Huntington OKs paid time off for town workers' first-responder training

Huntington officials have approved giving paid time off to town employees to attend training for their volunteer first-responder duties.

Town board member Dave Bennardo, who cosponsored the resolution with fellow member Sal Ferro, said the new policy allows volunteer firefighters and medical response workers to take a limited number of days as paid time off for such things as training to respond to lithium battery fires or bomb threats.

Bennardo said town officials were approached by volunteers who said attending the required trainings forced them to take unpaid days or use vacation time. He said given that they are already volunteering their time to do the work, combined with the challenge of retaining first responders, putting a policy on the books made sense. Bennardo said in previous administrations, chiefs were allowed days off for training as a courtesy if their supervisor allowed.

“This is for trainings and not conventions,” he said. “We don’t think it will happen often, but for them to have to go into their own pockets to rescue our families at night didn’t sit well with us.”

He said there are between 30 and 40 town employees who can benefit from the new policy.

According to the resolution, the paid time off allows commissioners, chiefs and assistant chiefs up to three days, department officers up to two days, and first responders up to one day annually. The training days must be certified as critical by the respective department’s board of fire commissioners and approved by the employee’s department supervisor, according to the resolution. 

The measure was approved 5-0 at the Nov. 19 town board meeting.

Dan Froehlich, president of the Town of Huntington Fire Chiefs’ Council, said state Occupational Safety and Health Administration requirements to be certified as a first responder have increased in recent years and that there are even more requirements for chiefs. He said volunteers train a minimum of 120 hours a year.

“To be a volunteer and take off a lot of time to go to training is nearly impossible,” Froehlich said. “This is going to benefit the town in that we are going to keep our volunteer service.”

Peter Loge, director of the Project on Ethics in Political Communication at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., said as a voter he would probably be persuaded this is a good idea.

 “No idea is perfect … and I am sure there are trade-offs, but on the surface, it sounds like a good way to recognize important public service," Loge said in an email.

Ken Girardin, research director for the Empire Center for Public Policy, said such policies must be crafted carefully.

“The town needs to have safeguards against abuse and risks setting precedent, especially with unionized town workers, that could morph into something more costly and less connected to original intention,” he said in an email.

In September, the town board approved a policy that allows first responders to leave work to respond to an emergency without being docked pay. In August, the board voted to give priority for affordable housing to first responders to increase the ranks of volunteers, Newsday previously reported.