By JOSEPH KELLARD
In his second bid for a full term on the Oceanside Board of Fire Commissioners, incumbent William F. Lynch defeated challenger Dennis McGlynn, 438 votes to 333, on Dec. 13.
Lynch, first elected to the board in 1999 to complete the term of a retiring commissioner, was re-elected the following year to a full five-year term. He will serve another full term beginning next month. "I'm just very appreciative for everyone coming out and voting for me," Lynch said. "I'm glad they had faith in me, and because of this they re-elected me to this position."
Asked to comment about what he would like to accomplish on the board in the coming years, Lynch said, "I just look forward to providing the best fire protection for the community. We do this mainly by maintaining fiscal responsibility. ... We'll try to keep the tax rate down, which we've done. I believe the average for departments out here is 11 percent increases, and Oceanside's this year is 4.9 percent. We're looking to maintain that."
The OFD's board comprises five commissioners: Craig DeBaun, Doug DiCeglio, Anthony McCarty, Paul Napoli and Lynch. This year Lynch served as chairman of the board. He joined the OFD with Columbia Engine Co. 1 in 1976, and was elected the company's captain in 1983. He was chief of the OFD in 1991 and 1992.
Lynch has worked at the Nassau County Sheriff's Department for 17 years, and for 25 years he has been an active member of Local 333 Tugboat division of the International Long Shoreman's Union.
In challenging Lynch, McGlynn sought a return to the board after he was defeated by Anthony McCarty in last December's election by a narrow 461-to-409 vote. After the election, McGlynn thanked his supporters, and answered in the affirmative when asked if he may run again for board. "It's a job that I liked doing, and I'm good at it," said McGlynn, who was elected commissioner in 1999 and served as chairman of the board in 2004. "And I feel that I'm an asset to the district. So it's always a possibility that I may run again."
At the board vote, at department headquarters on Foxhurst Road, residents also passed a ballot referendum, by a 311-to-46 vote, to allow firefighters who reach age 60 to earn credits toward additional years of service.
"The way the law was previously," OFD attorney Anthony Iovino explained, "once a firefighter turned 60, there was a cap on his or her LOSAP [Length of Service Award Program] points. These points, that go toward the state pension, are based on the number of calls, meetings, training meetings, educational seminars and such a firefighter attends. ... Once a firefighter reached 60, the points were capped. So even if you had a firefighter over 60 who was still active, they didn't get any points. The new provision allows them to collect these points."
Last year, by a 261-to-55 vote, residents passed a ballot referendum that called for lowering the minimum age at which firefighters could start receiving retirement benefits from the OFD from 62 to 60. The maximum benefit is $600 a month, which can be collected for a maximum of 30 years.
On Dec. 8, Chief Sean Lynch, 1st Assistant Chief Tom McDermott, 2nd Assistant Chief Daniel Sabatino and 3rd Assistant Chief Timothy Biscay were all re-elected, and will serve another year.
