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SUSSEX COUNTY FIREMEN'S ASSOCIATION
CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE I:
The name of this Association shall be the Sussex County Firemen's Association of the State of New Jersey
ARTICLE II:
Section 1. The object of the Association shall be to promote the welfare of the Fire Companies and arouse interest in improving our services as Firemen, and create a feeling of good fellowship among the members of this Association.
Section 2. The Sussex County Firemen's Association shall not participate in any type of political affiliation or activity.
ARTICLE III:
Section 1. All Fire Departments in Sussex County are eligible for membership and are entitled to five representatives, and one member on the Executive Committee.
Section 2. All Ex-Presidents of this Association, all Ex-members of the New Jersey State Firemen's Association and the New Jersey State Exempt Association Executive Committees for the County of Sussex, and all Ex-members of the Board of Managers of the New Jersey State Firemen's Home for the County of Sussex, are Life Members of this Sussex County Firemen's Association and have all the privileges of representatives.
Section 2a. All Secretaries, Treasurers, and Fire Marshals, past, present, and future, who have completed their term of office, shall be granted Life Membership in the Sussex County Firemen's Association.
Section 3. The dues of the Association shall be Forty Dollars ($40.00) per year for each Incorporated Municipal Company or Department as a whole, payable on or before the May meeting or such department shall not be included in parade line-up drawing.
Section 4. In case of deficit in the Treasury, an assessment may be levied by a majority vote of Two-thirds (2/3) of the members of the Association.
Section 5. All member departments shall be assessed the sum of Five Dollars ($5.00) for each person on their active rolls yearly. Said sum shall be paid by this Association to the Department holding a yearly parade and shall be due on or before August 1st.
Section 6. Any member Fire Department of the Firemen's Association that does not wish to parade in any given year, must so state in writing at the Association meeting in February of that year. Said Fire Department will not be assessed parade assessment.
Section 7. Any Sussex County Fire Department not paying assessment cannot participate in the parade or the discussion of the same. Furthermore, any Sussex County Fire Department that wants to Host the parade, must have paid the yearly dues and parade assessment Two years prior to hosting the parade.
Section 8. Uniform Allotment received by each department in the amount of $240 will be included in the annual parade expenses. This amount is payable prior to the May meeting of this Association along with Dues and Assessment Fee. This amount will be included in the payment made to the Parade Host Company prior to August 1st.
ARTICLE IV:
Section 1. The officers shall consist of a President, Secretary, Treasurer, and a Vice-President from the Department next in line for presidential rotation, all of whom shall be elected at the annual meeting, and shall serve for one year. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared duly elected. Rotation of Presidents and Vice-Presidents is determined by the existing rotation as established in 1993 and attached hereto.
Section 2. Nominations for officers of the Association shall be made at the regular meeting held prior to the annual meeting. The nominating committee shall consist of five Chiefs to be appointed by the President.
Section 3. The annual meeting shall be held on the third Wednesday in November.
Section 4. Sussex County Fire Marshal and Assistant Fire Marshals to be elected for a term of three years.
In the event of a vacancy of the Fire Marshal or Assistant Fire Marshals, the following shall occur:
A. Advertisement for the position shall be disseminated through the Sussex County Firemen's Association. Requirements for the position will be made available as required.
B. Letters of interest shall be submitted within the established time-frame as well as a complete resume shall be submitted to the Sussex County Fire Marshal. Copies of all certifications shall be attached. Additional documentation may be requested by the interview committee if required.
C. An interview committee shall be formed consisting of the following:
· Sussex County Sheriff and/or his designee
· Current sitting Fire Marshal/Fire Coordinator
· Current sitting Assistant Fire Marshal/Fire Coordinator
· President of the Sussex County Firemen's Association or his/her designee
· President of the Sussex County Fire Chiefs Association or his/her designee
· One (1) Ex-Chief from a small, medium and large department from within the Sussex County Firemen's Association. The Chief is to be appointed by the President of the Association and are to geographically picked to represent from the North, Central and Southern regions of the County.
· All interviews shall be conducted at the Sussex County Fire Marshal's Office or his designated location.
· All candidates shall be asked the same questions for his/her interview. List of questions will be maintained in the records of this Association by the Secretary.
· Complete background checks shall be performed on the top three (3) candidates.
· Letter of Recommendation of hire shall be sent to the Sussex County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the Sussex County Sheriff from said Committee upon completion of interviews and background check. The letter shall contain the following information:
o Names of members who conducted the interviews
o Dates interviews were conducted
o Locations interviews were conducted
o Names of all candidates who applied
o Supporting documentation (copy of Resume) of successful candidate
· Documentation shall be housed in the Office of the Fire Marshal, Sussex County Firemen’s Association, Sheriff’s Office and Human Resources of the County of Sussex.
Section 5. Chaplain to be appointed annually by the Executive Committee. Said Chaplain is not a member of the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE V:
Section 1. The monthly meetings of the Association shall be held on the third Wednesday of each month, with the exception of the month of September which date may be changed at the discretion of the membership if it coincides with the dates of the NJ State Firemen's Association annual Convention. There will be no meetings during June or December.
Section 2. Regular meetings shall be established in four (4) year intervals by the Secretary of the Association and printed on wallet-sized cards to be made available to members and departments of the Association as needed.
Section 3. Special meetings may be called by the President at request of three Departments or on call of President, wherein no business shall be transacted other than that for which the meeting was called.
Section 4. Seven Departments shall constitute a quorum.
BY-LAWS
ARTICLE I:
The By-Laws of the Association shall be equally binding with the Constitution.
ARTICLE II:
The President shall preside at all meetings and sign all orders on the Treasurer which shall have been sanctioned by the Association.
ARTICLE III:
It shall be the duty of the Vice-President, in absence of the President, to perform the duties of the President. In the absence of both the President and Vice-President, the meeting will be run by any Past President that is present at said meeting.
ARTICLE IV:
The Secretary shall keep regular and correct minutes of the proceedings of the Association, and suitable records of representative’s attendance in a book provided for that purpose, and notify the Representatives of all special meetings.
ARTICLE V:
It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to receive all monies and pay all others drawn on him by the Association and properly counter-signed by the Secretary.
The Treasurer shall keep a regular and authentic record of all monies and papers endorsed to the Association. The Treasurer shall report balance on hand at each regular meeting and at the annual meeting give a full and correct statement of the receipts and expenditures for the year.
ARTICLE VI:
Section 1. Only representatives of Fire Departments that are members of this Association and regularly elected life members of this Association shall have a vote in the meetings.
Section 2. Any member of a Fire Department that holds membership in this Association is privileged to attend any of the meetings of the Association and with the consent of the presiding officer can speak on any subject, but shall have no vote.
Section 3. Any person serving as a representative to this Association for three (3) years shall be awarded Life Membership to the Association. The three (3) years at sixty percent (60%) does not need to be attended successively. The Secretary shall ascertain if the person has attended sixty percent (60%) of the meetings and if so, they shall be achieve Life Membership.
ARTICLE VII:
The President shall appoint at the meeting previous to the annual meeting, a committee of three, to be known as the Auditing Committee, to audit the accounts of the Treasurer and report at the Annual meeting.
ARTICLE VIII:
It shall be the responsibility of the department hosting the monthly meeting to conduct an on-premise 50/50 with the proceeds being split equally between the County Association and the winner of said 50/50.
ARTICLE IX:
PARADE RULE REVIEW COMMITTEE
Section 1. The Parade Rule Review Committee shall consist of the President of the Sussex County Firemen’s Association and five (5) firefighters appointed by the President of the Sussex County Firemen’s Association at the September meeting beginning 2008, and from here forward.
Section 2. The Parade Rule Review Committee shall be structured as follows:
1. The President of the SCFA
2. A member from the last County Parade
3. A member from the department hosting the current parade
4. A member from the next scheduled parade
5. Two (2) members at large from the Sussex County Association
6. If any of the department’s is scheduled to host more than one (1) County Parade within 3 years, another member from the Sussex County Firemen’s Association will be appointed by the Association President.
7. Any member of this committee may serve as the Chairman
8. The President of the County Association shall call the first meeting of the Committee.
Section 3. There will hereby be enacted a moratorium on parade rule revisions and changes for a period of three (3) years beginning in 2008 pursuant to the motion passed at the April 16, 2008 meeting of the Sussex County Firemen’s Association. The only exception to this rule is if any safety issue develops and needs to be addressed, the committee shall convene right away.
Section 4. Any issues to be addressed regarding parade rules are to be submitted in writing only to the Secretary of the Sussex County Firemen’s Association for review by the Parade Rule Revision Committee.
ARTICLE X:
The Executive Committee shall have the discretion to cancel any meeting due to inclement weather or natural disasters.
ARTICLE XI:
Order of business shall be:
· Call to Order
· Flag Salute
· Invocation or Moment of Silence
· Chief's welcome
· Roll Call
· Secretary's Report
· Treasurer's Report
o Bills
· Correspondence
· Reports of Committees
o NJ State Firemen's Association Executive Committeeman
o NJ State Firemen's Association Legislative Representative
o NJ Firemen's Home Manager
o NJ State Exempt Firemen's Association Representative
o Sussex County Fire Marshal
o Sussex County Fire Police Association
o Sussex County Fire Chiefs Association
o Sussex County Public Safety Training Academy Board of Directors
o Fire Muster
o NJ Forest Fire Service
o Parade Committee
· Deceased Members
·
Old
Business
· New Business
· Nominating Committee to be appointed by the President at the October Meeting (to consist of five (5) Current or Past Chiefs)
· Audit Committee to be appointed by the President at the October Meeting (to consist of 3 members - one each from a Large Company, Medium Company and Small Company)
· Good of the Order
· Location of next meeting
· Benediction
· Adjournment.
ARTICLE XII:
Amendments to these By-Laws shall be presented in writing at a regular meeting of the Association and shall be held over for action until the next succeeding regular meeting of the Association, at which time they may be adopted by the consent of two-thirds of the members present at said meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
2020 Bylaws Committee
Cheryl Raperto/Sandyston Township Fire Department
T. Donald Drake/Stanhope Hose Company
Michael Donahue/Stanhope Hose Company
Daniel Scheuer/Ogdensburg Fire Department
Revised and Adopted at a Regular Meeting of the Sussex County Firemen’s Association
Held at Hamburg Firehouse on February 19, 2020
ROTATION OF PRESIDENT
Sussex
Branchville
Andover Borough
Franklin
Stanhope
Hopatcong
Green Township
Hardyston
Byram Township
Sparta
Pochuck Valley
Vernon
Hampton Township
Highland Lakes
Hamburg
Andover Township
Lafayette
Frankford
Stillwater
Fredon
Wantage
Ogdensburg
McAfee
Sandyston
Montague
Newton
History
At a meeting of the Hamburg Fire Department in 1919, the Organization of a County Firemen's Association was conceived. The Secretary wrote to the various County Departments calling for an organizational meeting. In the spring of 1920, a meeting was held in Newton and the Sussex County Firemen's Association was formed. There were six Fire Departments present. The first election of officers was held and the following men were selected.
President: Rutherford T. Layton, Franklin Fire Department
Secretary: Vivian O. Walters, Franklin Fire Department
Treasurer: Perry L. Moyse, Franklin Fire Department
Fire Marshal: Rutherford T. Layton, Franklin Fire Department
Charter Member Departments were: Franklin Fire Department, Hamburg Fire Department, Sussex Fire Department, Newton Fire Department, Ogdensburg Fire Department and Branchville Fire Department.
On October 2, 1920, the first Sussex County Firemen's Parade was held in Hamburg. Parades have been held every year since, with the exception of "War Years ~ 1943, 1944 and 1947" when no parades were held.
At a regular meeting of the County Association held in Ogdensburg on March 19, 1947, William Castimore of Sparta, suggested the holding of an "Old Timers Night" and upon a motion duly made and passed, it was agreed to hold "Old Timers Night" at the next regular meeting with the understanding that each Chief will make a special effort to bring as many Old Timers as possible. At a meeting of the Association held May 2nd in the Franklin Firehouse, this being Old Timers Night, President Frank Urban gave special words of welcome to the group. This was followed by a welcome by Franklin Mayor Jenkins. President Urban called on the following Old Timers, namely Comrades Slack, William Bailey, John Jennings, Hosea Decker, George Eagles, Maurice Bitya, Mr. Westbrook and Sam Silverman. Each of these made some appropriate comments as to the progress from the original days of a small group to the present turnouts and they all made comparisons between means of fighting fires then as compared to now. Mr. Slack, age 88, was the oldest member and Mr. Westbrook, age 86, was the next oldest. It may be stated that there 117 members present and a high percentage of these were Old Timers, and a count showed 36 members were former chiefs. This meeting was considered such an outstanding success that the President appointed a committee, consisting of all of the 14 present Chiefs to consider making Old Timers Night a definite Annual affair and asked that these Chiefs report at the next meeting. At the next regular meeting in Hamburg on June 18, a poll of the Chiefs present showed all were in favor of making Old Timers Night an annual affair and a motion was made and passed that this be held at the regular May meeting each year.
At the regular meeting of the Association held in Hamburg on June 18, 1947, Walter Mooney suggested that a Fire School be held in the County. At the next meeting in July, a poll of the Chiefs present was favorable for a school. A motion was made and passed to inaugurate a fire training program and the Chiefs of Franklin and Sussex together with Walt Mooney and William Castimore were appointed to draw up a program.
In 1954, the Sussex County Firemen's Association held the first of the Annual Memorial Services to honor Deceased Firemen in the County.
On January 19, 1955 a By-law committee was formed. On April 17, 1963, new bylaw books were distributed.
September 29, 1969, the Sussex County Fire Prevention Association was formed at the Newton #1 Firehouse.
April 19, 1978, it was proposed to incorporate the Association. May 17, 1978, the County Association voted to incorporate. Incorporation was handled by Donald Kovach, Esq. Those members present and signing the official incorporation documents of the Sussex County Firemen's Association were: President Albert Davenport; Secretary Peter Halke; Treasurer William Frantz; Past Presidents Robert Hardy, William Frank and Edwin Kantenwein; Fire Marshal Charles Thom; Assistant Fire Marshals Leonard Helmstetter and Joseph Barthel; Vice Presidents Ralph B. Ball Jr., Wesley Hendershot and William "Bud" Decker.
Chaplains of this Association that have given to us their precious time through the years: 1930-1935 Mr. C.A. McPeak of Hopatcong; 1936-1941 Rev. A.H. Darby of Hamburg; 1942-1945 Rev. Stephen Palmer of Sparta; 1942-1950 Rev. Henry Bowen of Stanhope; 1945 Rev. M.P. Seeger of Franklin; 1946 Rev. Joseph Keeper of Sparta; 1949-1950 Rev. Aubrey Alsobrook of Andover; 1949-1950 Rev. Harold Blackwell of Andover; 1952-1971 Rev. John T. Kheul of Hamburg; 1956 Father Thomas; 1971-1981 Rev. Carl Luthman of Lafayette; 1982-2011 Father John Quinlan of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Swartswood; 2011-Present Rev. Carl F. Lazzaro of Fredon.