The terms of a program that rewards long-serving volunteer firefighters could change under new legislation that would increase the benefit for some veteran firefighters but also limit who is eligible.

The Length of Service Award Program, or LOSAP, provides monthly payments to volunteer firefighters who are at least 50 years old and have completed a minimum of 25 years of active service.

A County Council bill introduced by the administration of County Executive Steve Schuh would increase those payments for volunteers who stay active after hitting the existing program's milestones. The measure is expected to be discussed at a council meeting Tuesday.

The bill would also add a requirement for participation: In order for volunteers to accrue LOSAP service points, they must be part of an “active company,” which the county would define as a volunteer group that responds to at least 5 percent of a station's emergency calls over the course of a year.

The proposal has become a point of contention among volunteers.

Craig Harman, treasurer of the Anne Arundel County Volunteer Firefighters Association and chairman of the association's LOSAP work group, said the bill would benefit Anne Arundel residents by providing more attractive incentives to potential volunteers and encouraging existing volunteers to ride the engines.

“The goal is to maintain a world-class combined service of volunteer and career members in Anne Arundel County,” Harman said. “It's important to the county and it's important to the citizens that we all work together and that we have a good system — that we retain quality folks, that we have people in place to mentor others [and] to keep that train moving.”

But not all stations have volunteers who respond to calls.

Al Kirchner, president of the Eastport Volunteer Fire Company, said his members support public safety by raising money to buy equipment and by holding public education events.

“Our contributions must not [be] diminished and our vital activities must not be ‘shut down' simply because the role we play in fire protection for Annapolis is different than what county officials believe it should be,” he wrote in an email.

Under LOSAP, volunteers earn points toward active status by participating in a range of activities — some worth more than others. Service points can be awarded for completing training courses, participating in drills, spending time on duty at the station, attending meetings and holding an elected or appointed position in the company or on a fire and rescue service committee.

Currently, all vested LOSAP members earn $250 a month regardless of whether they are active. Spouses of deceased members receive $150 a month.

Under the bill, inactive members who have already met the eligibility requirements would continue to receive $250 a month. Those who keep earning 50 points a year for at least seven of the past 10 years will see benefits increase: $300 a month for members with 25 to 34 years of active service, $350 a month for 35 to 44 years of active service and $400 a month for 45 or more years of active service.

Surviving spouses would receive half of the monthly benefit at the time of a member's death.

Companies that do not meet the quota for emergency calls and become inactive would still see benefits for existing LOSAP recipients. But those members would not be eligible for future benefit increases and could not submit points for members who have not yet become eligible for the program.

“We wanted to give firefighters a bump in the benefit, and the fiscally prudent way to do this was to change eligibility requirements,” said Owen McEvoy, spokesman for Schuh, a Republican. “Overall, this is a great deal for the vast majority of volunteer firefighters in the county.”

Kirchner believes the shift could harm companies like his, which would almost certainly be deemed “inactive” under the new requirements.

“The loss of the LOSAP incentive from an ‘inactive' company is analogous to the NCAA prohibiting teams who do not have a winning season from using athletic scholarships to recruit good players to rebuild their team — how do you rebuild a team when you have lost your incentives?” he wrote.

He wants the county to provide incentives for active service without making other companies ineligible for LOSAP. And he suggested reducing time and travel commitments for volunteer training to encourage more to join.

LOSAP benefits have not changed since 2001. The current legislation is the result of three years of negotiations between the county and the volunteer firefighters' association, Harman said.

Some volunteers are “tentative right now because it's different than what it was,” he said. “There's a little element of change.”

At a work session earlier this month, some council members expressed reservations about the proposal.

“What I'm worried about is if this legislation were to pass ... more than several volunteer stations around the county would end up dissolving,” said Councilman Chris Trumbauer, an Annapolis Democrat. “I would hate to lose the value that they're providing to the community.”

He recommended phasing in the new requirements, to give companies time to figure out how to remain active.

Councilman Jerry Walker, a Crofton Republican, suggested creating different levels of the LOSAP benefit based on a volunteer's activity level — for example, allotting more money to someone who rides an engine than someone who does administrative work at the station — without eliminating anyone's eligibility.

“I just don't think it's right to set up a winners and losers situation, which sounds like the direction we're headed in,” Walker said.

Councilman Derek Fink, a Republican from Pasadena, appeared more supportive of the change. He questioned the value of giving benefits to volunteers who are not responding to emergency calls.

“If they're not going out on calls at all, what value to the county are they providing at that point?” he asked.

County Fire Chief Allan Graves said his focus is on rewarding active members.

Graves called the requirements “a low bar ... I think the association is clear that, although [LOSAP] seems like a pension, it's not really a pension — it's a length-of-service award.”