Page 4 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • April 3, 2013 Wyckoff The Wyckoff Family YMCA will present its Tenth William E. Boye Humanitarian Award to the Wyckoff Fire Department in recognition of department members’ selfless commitment of time, energy, and resources to the residents and businesses of Wyckoff. The award will be presented at the Y’s 2013 Friends of the Y Dinner on Wednesday, April 24. the event will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Wyckoff Family YMCA, 691 Wyckoff Avenue in Wyckoff. All are invited to attend this celebratory, community-wide beefsteak dinner that will include special music, keynote speakers, presentations, and proclamations. Y names fire department as Boye Award recipient Wyckoff has three fire protection companies. Company 1 is located at Scott Plaza at Wyckoff Town Hall, Company 2 is on Wyckoff Avenue, and Company 3 is on Sicomac Avenue. The members of the Wyckoff Fire Department volunteer a significant amount of time to the township. In 2012, the department responded to 677, requiring nearly 39,000 man hours, including fire response, car accidents, calls for mutual aid from neighboring towns, and various needs for service. Hurricane Sandy led to 182 calls, varying from trees down on homes, utility emergencies, smoke reports, and a generator fire, among many others. Approximately 11,500 man hours were spent on training to include drills, classes, and other pertinent outside training. The Wyckoff Fire Department also works closely with the Wyckoff Township Committee and Wyckoff Township Administrator to enact safety ordinances such as snow removal around fire hydrants, construction requirements, etc. “In light of the huge demand of calls and equipment requirements, we set a high priority to maintain updated safety equipment on all fronts,” said Wyckoff Fire Chief Lou Graglia. “In 2012, we purchased and deployed 13 bailout kits to include training for our interior firefighters. We purchased 18 sets of new turnout gear to replace older sets that are no longer in compliance with today’s standards, and we continue to work to upgrade our self-contained breathing apparatus to offer our members the best personal protective equipment available.” The Wyckoff Y is offering an opportunity for all Wyckoff residents and businesses to help the fire department meet the cost of keeping all safety and firefighting equipment compliant and up to date. An ad journal is being compiled, and 100 percent of the proceeds from that journal will benefit the Wyckoff Fire Department. The journal, which will be presented to all guests at the dinner, will highlight all the community members who support these volunteers. Tickets to the 2013 Friends of the Y Dinner are $30 for Wyckoff firefighters and $60 for all other guests. Call (201) 8912081 for dinner tickets and ad sponsorship information. Township’s $17.7 budget includes $35 average rise by John Koster The Wyckoff Township Committee introduced a $17,775,278 municipal budget that will increase local property taxes by $35 on the average Wyckoff house assessed at $812,200. “It’s essentially a flat budget,” said Finance Chairman Kevin Rooney of the Wyckoff Township Committee, discussing the budget in some detail at a special meeting on March 27. The budget includes funding for administration, police, road department, parks, recreation, and equipment for the all-volunteer fire department. This budget is for municipal purposes only. The township’s overall tax rate will also include taxes to support other entities, (continued on page 19)