New Jersey Senate passes bill allowing counties, municipalities to contribute more money for volunteer first aid squads

NEPTUNE, N.J. -- A bill that just passed the Senate in New Jersey would allow counties and municipalities to contribute more money each year for volunteer first aid squads.

The Shark River Hills First Aid Squad in Neptune Township runs solely on donations. Bill Rosen has volunteered there for 37 years.

"I grew up with it. I grew up here at the squad and at the fire house," Rosen told CBS2's Meg Baker. "It's basically getting out into my own community and helping the people that ask for the help."

The volunteers say their patients are the priority, and to properly care for them, they need funding for the right equipment.

Republican State Sen. Anthony Bucco is a sponsor of a bipartisan bill that will allow municipalities to increase funding to volunteer EMS organizations.

"Municipalities and counties are limited to a contribution of $70,000 per year and another $35,000 under extraordinary circumstances. Our bill that just passed the Senate would increase that to $125,000 on a yearly basis, and then $70,000 more under extraordinary circumstances," Bucco said.

Bucco says COVID has had a major impact on these squads. They have selflessly been on the front lines.

"They've had trouble retaining volunteers for years, and COVID has just made it worse. And it's also impacted them in the budget because they were forced to buy additional PPE," Bucco said.

Michael Bascom, a volunteer and the chief financial officer for Neptune Township, says the bill is welcomed but it's not the answer to everything.

"It's an authorization for municipalities to give more funding to their volunteer first aid squads. It's not additional money for the towns, so right now, that money is going to be in competition with the money they need for everything else," he said.

Some towns will have the ability to fully fund the volunteer squads, while some will have to weigh their priorities. Bucco says there is a push in Trenton for more municipal and county aid for first responders in the state's budget.