Village voters overwhelmingly approved a length of service award program for the volunteers of the fire department and emergency medical squad.

And like the the trustees elected Tuesday, department officials attribute the passage of the proposition to their door-to-door campaigning.

The ballot proposition was passed by a margin of 397 to 62.

The Length of Service Award Program, or LOSAP, would provide pension payments, based on their number of years of active service, to members of the fire department and emergency medical squad following their retirement.

The plans are already in use in hundreds of departments across the state and are touted as a tool to help recruit and retain volunteers. The one approved Tuesday is the first in Otsego County.

"It's a definite morale booster," said fire department president Al Keck, who added that he believes the pension-like program will bring people who had drifted away, back to the department and also act as an incentive to others to remain active.

"It will be reinvigorating," he predicted.

Keck credited the hard work of fire chief Jim Tallman and department member Mike Perrino on developing the plan and getting it approved by voters.

Tallman said the fire department is elated at the taxpayers show of support.

"I think it will be positive for both the fire department and the village," he said. "I want to thank the entire board of trustees and especially Glenn Hubbell and Madalyn Cimino, who worked hard at getting it to the table and approved by the board."

Tallman said their door-to-door campaigning gave the department members an opportunity to address questions the voters may have had about the program.

"We had a chance meet a lot of people and may have even found a couple of new members," he said.

He added that he has talked to fire chiefs from four other departments in the county who were interested in the outcome of the election and may try to establish similar programs in their departments.

Under the plan, payments would be based on members' number of years of active service in the department. The department will establish guidelines which must be met in order for members to accumulate each year of service. A minimum of five years of service is required to qualify for the LOSAP program.

The pension plan would be funded locally through property taxes on village residents and through fire contracts with surrounding communities which receive coverage from the Cooperstown fire department and EMS squad.

Based on estimates provided by the fire department and Penflex, the company which will administer the fund, the plan will cost between $50,000 and $100,000 annually.