What's happening
This bill allows four Arlington Fire District firefighters to join the 20-year retirement plan despite missing the original deadline.
Why it matters
Addresses fairness for affected firefighters. By allowing these four individuals to opt into the 20-year retirement plan after missing the original deadline through no fault of their own, the bill corrects an administrative oversight that could have permanently limited their retirement benefits.
Directs financial responsibility to the local district. The Arlington Fire District must cover all additional costs resulting from this change—including an estimated $399,000 in past service costs—which may impact the district’s budget and, potentially, local taxpayers.
Requires local oversight and approval. The bill will only take effect if the Arlington Fire District Board formally requests it by resolution, ensuring local control and that the district agrees to the associated financial and administrative obligations.
Sets a precedent for similar cases. By creating a legislative path for remedying missed retirement plan enrollments, this bill could influence how other districts and public employers handle comparable situations in the future.
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Who cares
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Let Four Firefighters Retire Early
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Signed chap.128
- Delivered to governor
- Returned to assembly
- Passed senateVote 62–0
- 3rd reading cal.1162
- Substituted for S6333B
- Referred to civil service and pensions
- Delivered to senate
- Passed assembly
- Advanced to third reading cal.916
- Reported
- Reported referred to ways and means
Show 14 earlier actions
- Print number 8227a
- Amend and recommit to governmental employees
- Referred to governmental employees
- Returned to assembly
- Died in senate
- Referred to rules
- Delivered to senate
- Passed assembly
- Ordered to third reading rules cal.626
- Rules report cal.626
- Reported
- Reported referred to rules
- Reported referred to ways and means
- Referred to governmental employees
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Allow 4 Firefighters Early Retirement
Senate Floor Calendar · Sponsor Susan Serino
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
8227--A
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
June 2, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. BARRETT -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Employees -- recommitted to the Committee on Governmental Employees in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to authorize Johel E. Dongo, Carl P. Cacace Jr., Douglas J. Parrish and Christopher Saya, to elect to participate in the optional twenty year retirement plan for firefighters employed by the Arlington Fire District in the county of Dutchess
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the Arlington Fire District, in the county of Dutchess, a participating employer in the New York state and local police and fire retirement system, which previously elected to offer the optional twenty year retirement plan, established pursuant to section 384-d of the retirement and social security law, to firefighters employed by such fire district, is hereby authorized to make participation in such plan available to Johel E. Dongo, Carl P. Cacace Jr., Douglas J. Parrish and Christopher Saya; firefighters employed by such fire district, who, for reasons not ascribable to their own negligence, failed to make a timely application to participate in such optional twenty year retirement plan. Thereafter, Johel E. Dongo, Carl P. Cacace Jr., Douglas J. Parrish and Christopher Saya may elect to be covered by the provisions of section 384-d of the retirement and social security law, and shall be entitled to the full rights and benefits associated with coverage under such section as well as section 384-e of such law, by filing a request to that effect with the state comptroller on or before December 31, 2018.
§ 2. All past service costs associated with implementing the provisions of this act shall be borne by the Arlington Fire District and may be amortized over a period of ten years.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07032-10-7
A. 8227--A 2
§ 3. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, this act shall be contingent upon the Arlington Fire District Board of Fire Commissioners passing a resolution requesting the enactment of this legislation and providing copies of such resolution to each house of the legislature.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
FISCAL NOTE.--Pursuant to Legislative Law, Section 50:
This bill will allow the Arlington Fire District to elect to reopen
the provisions of Section 384-d together with Section 384-e of the
Retirement and Social Security Law for fire fighters Johel E. Dongo,
Carl P. Cacace Jr., Douglas J. Parrish and Christopher Saya.
If this bill is enacted and these firefighters become covered under
the provisions of Section 384-d together with Section 384-e, we antic-
ipate that there will be an increase of approximately $42,000 in the
annual contributions of the Arlington Fire District for the fiscal year
ending March 31, 2019. In future years, this cost will vary as the bill-
ing rates and salaries of these firefighters change.
In addition to the annual contributions discussed above, there will be
an immediate past service cost of approximately $399,000 which would be
borne by the Arlington Fire District as a one-time payment. This esti-
mate is based on the assumption that payment will be made on February 1,
2019. If the Arlington Fire District elects to amortize this cost over a
10 year period, the cost of the first year would be $53,100.
Summary of relevant resources:
The membership data used in measuring the impact of the proposed
change was the same as that used in the March 31, 2017 actuarial valu-
ation. Distributions and other statistics can be found in the 2017
Report of the Actuary and the 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial
Report.
The actuarial assumptions and methods used are described in the 2015,
2016 and 2017 Annual Report to the Comptroller on Actuarial Assumptions,
and the Codes Rules and Regulations of the State of New York: Audit and
Control.
The Market Assets and GASB Disclosures are found in the March 31, 2017
New York State and Local Retirement System Financial Statements and
Supplementary Information.
I am a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and meet the Quali-
fication Standards to render the actuarial opinion contained herein.
This estimate, dated December 1, 2017, and intended for use only
during the 2018 Legislative Session, is Fiscal Note No. 2018-13,
prepared by the Actuary for the New York State and Local Retirement
System.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.