N.Y. General Municipal Law § 219-a: Administration, reporting and disclosure

§ 219-a. Administration, reporting and disclosure. 1. The sponsor or

the designated program administrator shall provide each active volunteer

firefighter who participates in a service award program maintained under

this article with a summary of the program's provisions, including the

program's provisions relating to the participation requirements, the

rate at which a nonforfeitable interest in program benefits increases

and the program's service awards formula. This summary shall be provided

to each service award program participant within six months from the

date the program participation commences. In addition, any material

modification to such program provisions shall be communicated in writing

to each participant within six months after the later of the date

modification is adopted or the date it is effective. The designated

program administrator shall cause a statement of contributions to be

provided to sponsors at least once annually. A copy of this program, the

summary of the program, and documents related to the funding or

investment of the assets of the program and of any contracts or

agreements with service providers to the program shall be provided to

participants annually and a copy shall be made available for inspection

or copying by a program participant or beneficiary at the sponsor's main

office. The plan document and the summary of the plan document shall be

made available for public inspection and copying.

2. (a) This program shall be administered by such political

subdivisions in accordance with standards and procedures established by

them. Payment shall be made when certified by such political

subdivisions; provided, however, that in the case of a

state-administered program, the procedures for administration and

payment shall be consistent with the rules and regulations governing the

state-administered program.

(b) It shall be the responsibility of each participating volunteer

fire company to maintain all required records on forms prescribed by the

governing board of such political subdivision of the state; provided,

however, that in the case of a state-administered program, each

participating fire company shall compile and maintain such records in a

manner consistent with the rules and regulations governing the

state-administered program.

(c) Each volunteer fire company shall furnish to the governing board

of such political subdivision a list of all volunteer members, certified

under oath, and shall identify those volunteer members who have

qualified for credit under the award program for the previous year. Such

list shall be submitted annually by March thirty-first. In the case of

state-administered plans, such list shall be submitted annually by March

thirty-first or otherwise as provided in the rules and regulations

governing the state-administered program. Notwithstanding the provisions

of this paragraph a volunteer firefighter may request that his name be

deleted from said list as a "participant" in said "defined benefit plan"

or "defined contribution plan". Such request for deletion shall be in

writing and shall remain effective until withdrawn in the same manner.

(d) The governing board of each such political subdivision shall

review the list of each volunteer fire company and approve the final

annual certification. The approved list of certified members shall then

be returned to each company and posted for at least thirty days for

review by members.

3. The sponsor or designated program administrator shall obtain an

annual audit of its records by an independent certified public

accountant or an independent public accountant. Such audit shall examine

the program's financial conditions, actuarial assumptions, fiduciary

investment and control, and asset allocations, including whether current

assets are adequate to fund future liabilities. A copy of the audit

shall be presented to the program sponsor and to the state comptroller

by such accountant. Copies of the audit shall also be made available for

public inspection and copying. The audit must be completed within two

hundred seventy days of the program sponsor's fiscal year.