Helping Our Heroes
Every single day brave men and women voluntarily risk their own health, safety, and wellbeing in our fire departments and emergency service agencies for the greater good of this County. In fact, volunteer EMS respond annually to over 40,000 calls; fire departments respond to over 9,000. That is not a sacrifice this administration takes lightly.
It’s no secret that these agencies are constantly struggling to recruit and retain members. This is why in honor of their hard work, and to ensure we don’t face any shortages where emergencies are concerned, I proposed $1.5-million dollars in college tuition assistance for volunteer fire fighters and emergency responders in the 2023 proposed budget. This program will provide heroes choosing to put their lives on the line with $6,000 a year towards their college tuition for their service to the County.
Some of the requirements include:
- Being an active member of the agency for one year
- Responding to 15% of emergency response calls or shift hours
- Students must earn a GPA of “C” or better
- Attend 25% of department training
Unfortunately, mass shootings are becoming far too common in this Country and as a former NYPD Police Commander, I firmly believe it is better to be proactive than reactive.
I want to recognize Sheriff Louis Falco and our Sheriff’s Office, along with all our law enforcement personnel, for the extraordinary work they do. Just this year, this department has led or participated in multi-agency training in several school districts with plans to expand those efforts in 2023 to include County Properties and Rockland Community College.
Considering the growing number of violent incidents happening in communities across the country including our own, the Rockland County Sheriff’s Office will be providing active shooter training next year focused on schools and workplaces.
Thanks to a grant, we won’t have to spend a single penny for this training.
For a full look of everything we announced in the Proposed 2023 Budget head to our website:
https://rocklandgov.com/
