Friday, August 17, 2018
Vol. 94, No.48
FOUNDED 1923
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LOCALLY OWNED AND EDITED
Summer enrichment PAGE 46 n Tree removals? PAGE 3
Temporary restraining order issued in firefighter layoffs
SWIM ACROSS GARDEN CITY
By Meg Morgan Norris
The Garden City Pool was recently the site of Garden City's Swim Across America event. Swimmers of all ages enjoyed a fun evening of swimming, music and drinks while raisng funds for charity. See page 42
Village examines benefits for volunteers By Meg Morgan Norris
The Village of Garden City has been examining a possible service award program to members of the volunteer fire department for several months, according to documents the Garden City News acquired via a Freedom of Information Law request. The type of program, known as Length of Service Awards Programs (LOSAP) provide
retirement benefit payments to volunteers in exchange for their years of service. Such a program would have to be approved both by the Board of Trustees and also by Garden City voters at a referendum. There are two main types of LOSAP programs. In both cases benefits would start when a firefighter reaches an entitlement age such as 65, or when they
become disabled or die. In a defined benefit program the volunteer firefighter would receive a monthly benefit dependent on the number of years served. In a defined contribution plan, the volunteer would receive a lump sum at entitlement age depending on years of service. An email from Village See page 37
Six Garden City residents will be going to court next week to attempt to have a judge throw out a decision by the Garden City Board of Trustees to abolish the jobs of all of the Village’s paid firefighters. On Wednesday, New York State Supreme Court Justice R. Bruce Cozzens issued a temporary restraining order against the Village of Garden City which prohibits the Village from taking any action on its resolution to abolish the jobs of the firefighters, pending a court hearing on August 22nd. The six residents, Kathleen Joyce, Meagan Male, T.J. Michon, Kent and Karen Reiter and Robert Wolff, claim that the Village failed to conduct an environmental review of the action; failed to comply with the state’s Open Meetings Law; and failed to comply with conflict of interest rules in the Village’s Ethic’s Code. The action is brought under Article 78 of New York State’s Civil Practice Law and seeks to void the Village’s resolution to abolish the paid fire department, which was passed by the Board of Trustees on July 25th. The petition to the court lays out three courses of action. First, it says that the action of laying off the firefighters is subject to the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act, and that the Village made no determination whether an environmental review was necessary. The second cause of action claims that Trustee Mark Hyer, who voted to abolish the paid department, is himself a volunteer firefighter and should have recused himself from the vote. The third cause of action is whether the Village broke the New York State Open Meetings Law in several aspects. The plaintiffs claim the Village failed to publish a copy of the resolution prior to the meeting, and that the lack of notices “appears to have been calculated to minimize public awareness of a sensitive political decision”
Union makes proposal
Firefighters union president T.J. Michon said the union made a proposal to settle the dispute this week, but have not received a response from the Village as of Wednesday. According to the proposal, which he supplied to the Garden City News, the union would agree to give up having exclusive See page 37
Swim Team "A" wins sixth consecutive championship PAGE 56 History pictured: The Garden City that disappeared PAGES 24-25