Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and I joined members of the Suffolk County Vocational Education and Extension Board (“VEEB”) and members of the Suffolk County Fire & EMS Joint Council to announce a three-year contract that will provide extra training for volunteer firefighters, reduce administrative costs and allow for college credits through fire training courses. The three-year deal is the first multi-year contract between the County and the VEEB, which have entered into one-year agreements since the 1950s. Currently, there are about 12,500 volunteer firefighters in Suffolk County who stand to benefit from the increased training. The increases mean that each of Suffolk County’s 109 volunteer fire departments will be offered 7 field training courses per year, an increase from the previous total of an offer of 5 field training courses per year. After many decades of providing the best training in the Country, I have great confidence that the Suffolk County Fire Academy will continue to provide superior services to our firefighters. I applaud Commissioner Joe Williams, Executive Director Robert Holley and the members of VEEB for coming to the table and negotiating a contract that is good for our taxpayers and most importantly our volunteers. Leaders of the fire service in Suffolk County had approached the Bellone Administration beginning in 2012, asking for previous reductions in fire training to be reversed and for training to increase. Negotiations on the topic then began between the County and the VEEB, which has operated the Fire Academy under contract for more than 50 years. In the three year agreement VEEB agrees to reduce administrative costs by 5 percent per year during the three years of the contract, with the savings being re-invested into classroom and field training. In addition, the VEEB will work to provide college credits for some of its course work to volunteer firefighters who successfully complete those courses as is done in other parts of the Country. The County and the VEEB will also work on expanding training to include more online education, to provide greater flexibility to volunteers. Lastly, the VEEB will be free to pursue other funding sources for training and education beyond Suffolk County and New York State grants. The contract is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2014 and will run through Dec. 31, 2016.
Posted on: Mon, 12 May 2014 19:23:30 +0000
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