Sec. 154.6. Service credit and payment of contributions

(a) Each volunteer fire company or volunteer fire department for which a State-administered defined contribution volunteer firefighter service award program is in effect shall maintain at all times for each volunteer firefighter of the volunteer fire company or volunteer fire department, whether or not such volunteer firefighter is a participant in the State-administered defined contribution volunteer firefighter service award program, a record of the activities performed and points granted toward a year of firefighting service. The administrator may prescribe the form and manner of compiling and maintaining such records.

(b) On or before March 31st of each year, each volunteer fire company or volunteer fire department for which a State-administered defined contribution volunteer firefighter service award program is adopted shall prepare and submit to the governing board of the sponsor a list of all the volunteer firefighters of the volunteer fire company or volunteer fire department which identifies all those who have qualified for credit for a year of firefighting service during the preceding calendar year. Such list shall be certified under oath by the president, secretary and chief or comparable officers of the volunteer fire company or volunteer fire department and shall be accompanied by such membership records or records of point accumulations as the governing board may require to substantiate the accuracy of the list. Such list shall also identify those volunteer firefighters who have waived participation in the State-administered defined contribution volunteer firefighter service award program as provided in subdivision (f) of this section.

(c) On or before May 1st of each year, the governing board of the sponsor shall review each such certified list and may delete the name of any person who was not a volunteer firefighter during the preceding calendar year or disallow the service credit of any volunteer firefighter who did not earn or otherwise receive 50 points during the preceding calendar year or whose point accumulation has not been adequately documented. Thereafter, the governing board shall approve each such certified list of volunteer firefighters and each volunteer firefighter named thereon shall be credited with a year of firefighting service. Upon approval, the governing board shall cause a copy of each list to be returned to the appropriate volunteer fire company or volunteer fire department and each volunteer fire company or volunteer fire department shall, immediately upon receipt, post the list in a conspicuous place at its principal headquarters for at least 30 days and maintain a record of the date on which the list is posted; provided, however, that no personal identifying information shall be included in the list that is posted except the names of the firefighters credited with a year of firefighting service.

(d) Not later than 30 days after the approved list is posted by the volunteer fire company or volunteer fire department, any volunteer firefighter whose name does not appear on the list as having qualified for credit for a year of firefighting service may appeal to the governing board of the sponsor to have his or her name added to the list. The appeal shall be in writing and mailed to the clerk or secretary of the governing board of the sponsor. The governing board shall investigate all appeals and upon finding that such a volunteer firefighter has qualified for a year of firefighting service for the preceding calendar year, shall order the volunteer firefighter's name to be added to the approved list.

(e) On or before July 1st of each year, the governing board of the sponsor shall cause a certified copy of the approved list to be filed with the administrator.

(f) Any volunteer firefighter not wishing to participate in the State-administered defined contribution volunteer firefighter service award program may waive participation by filing with the chief executive officer of the volunteer fire company or volunteer fire department, the chief executive officer of the political subdivision and the administrator a written notice of waiver of participation. Such waiver shall remain effective until withdrawn in the same manner. During the period such a waiver remains effective, a volunteer firefighter shall not earn service credit, nor be entitled to a distribution from the State-administered defined contribution volunteer firefighter service award program.

(g) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions (b) through (e) of this section, if, as of the effective date of the conversion of the locally-administered defined contribution volunteer firefighter service award program into a State-administered defined contribution volunteer firefighter service award program, the governing board of a sponsor has approved a certified list of volunteer firefighters qualified for credit for a year of firefighting service rendered during the preceding calendar year in substantial compliance with the procedures set forth in subdivisions (b) through (d) of this section, excepting the dates set forth therein, the governing board shall comply with the filing requirement of subdivision (e) of this section no later than 30 days after the chief executive officer of the sponsor files a completed and executed copy of the adoption or transfer agreement with the administrator pursuant to section 154.4 of this Part.

(h)

(1) Commencing on November 15th of the year in which State administration begins, and each November 15th thereafter, the administrator shall estimate the amount that each sponsor is required to contribute to a State-administered defined contribution volunteer firefighter service award program for the current calendar year, including any prior service contributions required to be paid in such year pursuant to section 154.7 of this Part, and any additional amounts determined by the administrator to be necessary to fully finance all existing obligations of such program. The administrator shall submit to the fiscal officer of each sponsor a statement of the amount so payable, plus any administrative costs payable by the sponsor. For good cause shown, the administrator may recalculate the contribution and issue a corrected statement. If, as a result of the amount determined to be paid for any calendar year, a sponsor overpaid its actual obligation for that year, the amount to be determined by the administrator for the next succeeding November 15th shall reflect the amount of the overpayment, plus interest, as a reduction in the amount otherwise required to be paid by such sponsor.

(2) Within 60 days after the date of a statement issued pursuant to paragraph (1) if this subdivision, the sponsor shall pay to the administrator the total amount due as shown on such statement.

(3) Interest shall accrue and be paid by the sponsor on all amounts due, but not received by the administrator within 60 days after the date of the statement issued pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subdivision. The interest rate or rates used to calculate such interest shall be the actual investment return rate earned by the volunteer firefighters' defined contribution service award program trust fund during the calendar year (or years) in which such unpaid contributions were due to be paid.

(4) The administrator shall notify the Comptroller of any amounts remaining unpaid more than 90 days after the date of the statement issued pursuant to subdivision (a) of this section.

(5) In the event that a sponsor does not submit to the administrator an approved list in accordance with subdivision (e) or (g) of this section, the administrator shall bill the sponsor for the contribution due for the calendar year in which the list should have been submitted in an amount calculated by the administrator equal to the estimated contribution due during such year. Such estimated contribution shall be calculated by the administrator as if all volunteer firefighters named on the latest year's approved list received by the administrator continued to be volunteer firefighters and all such persons earned a year of service credit during the calendar year for which the list should have been prepared in accordance with subdivision (e) or (g) of this section. Payment of such estimated contribution shall be made in accordance with paragraphs (1) through (3) of this subdivision as if the administrator's estimate was based upon the actual approved lists prepared in accordance with subdivisions (a) through (e) of this section. Upon receipt by the administrator of the actual approved list prepared in accordance with subdivisions (a) through (e) of this section, the administrator shall recompute the contributions due for such calendar year. In the event that additional contributions are owed by the sponsor (including any additional administration costs), the administrator shall bill the sponsor for such additional amounts. Interest shall be paid by the sponsor on all additional amounts owed and shall accrue from the due date of the payment of the estimated contribution billed to the sponsor by the administrator with such interest calculated in accordance with paragraph (3) of this subdivision. Any excess of the estimated contributions over the actual contributions shall be treated as an overpayment by the sponsor in the manner provided in subdivision (a) of this section. The amount of such overpayment shall be reduced by any related additional administration costs charged by the administrator. The assessment of any extra additional administration charges payable by the sponsor to the administrator because of the failure to comply with subdivisions (a) through (e) of this section shall be in accordance with the contract between the Comptroller and the administrator.

(i)

(a) Forfeitures shall be used to reduce contributions for other service award participants.

(b) In the event that two years have elapsed since an inactive volunteer firefighter participant or a participant's designated beneficiary becomes eligible to apply for a service award and the administrator does not receive an application for distribution, the administrator, the sponsor and the volunteer fire company or volunteer fire department in which the participant was a member shall attempt to notify the person or persons to whom the service award would be paid. In the event that the administrator, in his or her sole discretion, determines that a reasonable attempt has been made to contact such person or persons without success, the service award payable shall then be considered as forfeited for the purpose of determining future contributions payable by the sponsor.

(c) A participant who ceases to be a volunteer firefighter before he or she has earned a nonforfeitable right to a service award shall forfeit his or her service credit and account balance upon receipt by the administrator of notice from the sponsor and the appropriate volunteer fire department or volunteer fire company that the individual has ceased to be a volunteer firefighter. The provisions of this subdivision shall not apply to a volunteer firefighter who is determined to be totally and permanently disabled in accordance with section 154.8(d) of this Part.

(d) In the event that a person whose service credit and account balance were forfeited in accordance with paragraph (3) of this subdivision resumes being a volunteer firefighter within the five-year period beginning immediately after the calendar year in which he or she ceased to be a volunteer firefighter, such person's forfeited service credit shall be restored as of December 31st of the first calendar year for which he or she again qualifies for a year of firefighting service credit and again becomes a participant in the State- administered defined contribution volunteer firefighter service award program in which he or she formerly was a participant.