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Council considers honorarium for volunteer fire chiefs; legal and EMS implications raised
Summary
Councilman Gomez said he supports an honorarium request from Fire Chiefs O'Rourke and Ciaglia, noting honorariums were paid previously but excluded from the 2024 and 2025 budgets; Borough Attorney Baxter warned that an honorarium can become payment if a specific amount is negotiated, raising legal implications under the Volunteer Protection Act.
Councilman Gomez reported that Fire Chiefs O'Rourke and Ciaglia attended the caucus to present a request for an honorarium and said he supports the request. Gomez noted that honorariums "were provided three times in the past but were not included in the budget in 2024 or 2025," which he said is why the chiefs had not received the payment in recent years.
Borough Attorney Baxter cautioned that an honorarium is traditionally a gesture of appreciation but that "once a specific amount is negotiated, it becomes payment for services," a distinction that can have legal and personnel implications, including potential effects related to EMS operations and the Volunteer Protection Act. The council deferred further discussion and any decisions to the executive session recorded later in the evening.
