Council sets LOSAP payment for volunteers
BY REBECCA MORTON Staff Writer

MARLBORO - The township will increase its annual payment to the Length of Service Awards Program (LOSAP) for qualified volunteer members of certain organizations based on the consumer price index.

Members of the Township Council voted on Feb. 7 to change the previous practice of periodic increases to the LOSAP fund. Going along with the passage of the annual increase, a resolution was passed to amend the amount of the payment to LOSAP for 2008.

At a previous council meeting the 2008 LOSAP payment to qualified individuals was approved at $1,187.95, reflecting a 3.3 percent increase.

After the resolution's passage the Consumer Price Index Adjustment for municipalities was changed to 3.5 percent. The new resolution was changed to reflect the 3.5 percent increase and bring the individual LOSAP payment to $1,190.25 for 2008.

The LOSAP payments are made to members of the Marlboro First Aid Squad and the Morganville First Aid Squad who achieve certain criteria during the year (i.e. responding to a certain number of calls and attending meetings). The township's payment for each qualified individual is placed in an account that functions like a pension.

Supporters of LOSAP in Marlboro and other communities have said the program serves as an incentive to people to join a volunteer organization and to remain a member for a number of years.

In other business, a contract was approved for the purchase of a new ambulance for the Marlboro First Aid Squad. One bid was received from Bay Head Investments of Berlin. As per the contract, the Marlboro First Aid Squad will trade in a 1998 ambulance and pay $169,582 for a 2008 ambulance.

Council President Jeff Cantor stepped off the dais for the conversation pertaining to all of the above since he is a member of the Marlboro First Aid Squad and would be affected by the decisions that are made by the council.

And, three young residents were honored for their anti-smoking public service announcement (PSA) sponsored by the Marlboro Alliance for the Prevention of Substance Abuse.

Dane Bilotti, Ikrom Ibrahim and Stephanie Tsim, all sixth grade pupils at the Marlboro Middle School, had the winning PSA from November's Great American Smoke Out contest.

Students were asked to submit a script with the theme of no smoking along with a written, descriptive summary, creating a visualization of their entry. The three Marlboro Middle School pupils provided a PSA with a chef and two assistants creating something in the kitchen. The chef calls for ingredients such as acetone, ammonia, arsenic and mothballs. The concoction is placed in the oven to be brought out filled with cigarettes spelling out "Do You Know What's In Cigarettes?"

The students' creative message received awards presented by alliance coordinator Nancy Geist.

Finally, Marlboro's Domestic Violence Response Team (DVRT) was recognized at the Feb. 7 meeting. The group members work with 180 Turning Lives Around and the Marlboro Police Department to offer support and information to victims of domestic violence. The 17 current anonymous volunteer victim advocates work on an on-call shift and report to police headquarters when they are needed.

Due to their anonymity no volunteers were present that evening but program coordinator Sue Levine and police department liaison Lt. Douglas Van Note were present to accept the certificate of recognition on behalf of the people who serve on the DVRT.