Jones: State needs to do more for fire departments in budget

ALBANY | Volunteer fire departments across New York State are struggling to make ends meet and to recruit new members. For months, Assemblyman Billy Jones (D-Chateaugay Lake) has pushed for relief for these fire departments to make sure that they have the resources they need to keep their communities safe. On March 23, Jones joined Sen. Michelle Hinchey as well as members of the State Legislature from both sides of the aisle to call for more funding to be included in the budget for the volunteer fire department capital fund. "I hear the same story in every North Country community I visit. Their volunteer fire departments are struggling and desperately need help from the state for capital projects and recruitment," said Jones. "That is why I pushed for funding in the state budget and introduced A4929 to allocate $100 million to create a capital fund for volunteer fire departments. The $10 million included in the One House Budget proposal is a great first step in helping volunteer fire departments acquire the equipment and build the facilities they need to answer the call during emergencies. But it's not enough; the state needs to do more and increase funding for this capital fund. Fire departments need help with retention, recruitment, and morale, and increasing state support is absolutely critical for volunteer fire departments, and I will continue to push for more state resources for our local fire departments." Last year, Jones' bill to allow fire departments to recover costs for ambulatory services was included in the State Budget, which has helped numerous North Country departments. Jones most recent efforts were to include a $10 million capital fund for volunteer fire departments in the One House Assembly Budget proposal and reimbursements for training. In addition to his advocacy for capital funding in the budget, Jones also introduced legislation to support volunteer fire departments. One bill creates a training fund to help pay for any work missed to attend trainings (A3242). Another bill creates a college scholarship for volunteer fire departments (bill # pending). Jones also introduced a bill to allow fire departments to recruit at local high schools (bill # pending).

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Jones: State needs to do more for fire departments in budget

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