Dear Fellow Retired Sergeant,
Greetings to all! The summer months are fast approaching, and I am happy to report that the RSA membership is at an all-time high. We have approximately 400 new members. Congrats on your retirement and welcome to our RSA family. In addition, we have over 200 members who have come back after taking a few years off. The RSA welcomes you back and appreciates your support and giving this board the opportunity to serve as your voice of retired sergeants as well as our promise to keep you informed.
Congratulations to SBA president Vincent Vallelong and the entire SBA Board Officers and Directors for retaining their positions for another four-year period. The RSA and the SBA Frontline Team has worked hard to form an alliance. For the past few months, I have been personally meeting and speaking with Vinny on a regular basis, discussing how we can both better serve each other. We are both excited of the things to come. I assure you, that I will always have the best interest of our retirees. Also, we cannot forget where we came from, by backing our brothers and sisters of the SBA. I can tell you that he hears our concerns and takes them very seriously. One of which is our Dental plan. He is working on a new Dental plan and has asked for my input on it. I will keep you updated on this improved upcoming benefit.
We are committed in keeping our members informed and are always looking for ways to better serve the membership. In the beginning of May, we were able to acquire an Automated External Defibrillator (AED). This was obtained, through a generous donation, by the Louis J. Acompora Memorial Foundation. We arranged for our Board of Directors to be trained in the use of this AED. Realizing the benefit of this training, we were able to secure training for our membership. I was happy to see the overwhelmingly positive response from our members looking to obtain CPR/AED training. Unfortunately, spots were limited, but we were able to obtain additional dates.
Thank you for all those who were able to attend our April General membership meeting on Staten Island. Unfortunately, we were unable to have it at the usual Staten Island location, but I want to thank Nick Canepa, Corresponding Secretary, for securing us a location and putting this meeting together with the help of the Board. There is a lot of planning and work that goes into having these meetings, and I am thankful for having a Board that cares and is willing to give up their personal time for the membership. I have spoken with a few of our Staten Island members who would like to assist us in finding a new location. I would like the thank Vinny and the Frontline Team, along with Errol Ogman, SBA Fund Administrator, for attending and speaking at our meeting. I would also like to thank Staten Island Borough Commander, Chief Gin Yee, for stopping by. I believe that it is important for us to maintain a relationship with the leadership of the NYPD.
I would like to update our members regarding the status of the City’s Medicare Advantage Plus Plan. As of the writing of this newsletter, the City has filled for a hearing of appeals. They requested to be put on the calendar for the June 2022 Term with a request for an expedited decision on the appeals. Here is the Supreme Court of the State of New York Appellate Division’s response:
“It is ordered that the motion is granted to the extent of directing the Clerk to maintain the appeal on this Court’s calendar for the September 2022 Term, to which Term the perfected appeal is adjourned.”
Even if a decision is rendered in September, we don’t expect the City to make any Plan changes to be effective prior to January 1, 2023. I cannot stress the importance of staying on top of these issues. It is expected that the City, OLR, will start going after the non-Medicare retirees’ and the actives’ medical coverage. There is talk of the possibility of tiering hospitals and steering members to newly created medical programs/Drs.
Lastly, we have made the following donations:
$500.00 – Emergency Medical Squad/Police Relief Fund
$250.00 – Louis J. Acompora Memorial Foundation
$250.00 – POPPA
Fraternally,
Robert Cotumaccio
President
