County Board Passes Property Tax Credit for Volunteer Emergency First Responders

12/9/2008 11:39:31 AM

At its regular Board meeting yesterday, the County Board approved legislation that gives volunteer firefighters and ambulance corps members a break on the county portion of their property tax bills.  To be eligible for an exemption of up to 10% of a property’s assessed value on the county’s share of property taxes, a volunteer must have at least five years of service and live in the city, town or village he or she serves.  After 20 years of service, the volunteer will have a lifetime exemption.

The Board’s action is based on New York State legislation adopted in 2003 and 2006 that enabled counties, towns, villages and school districts to provide for this exemption.

“Volunteers are critical to the provision of emergency services in many parts of Westchester County,” said County Legislator John Nonna (D-IN-WF, Pleasantville) who said there are seven volunteer fire districts in his legislative district.  “Supporting our volunteers and encouraging our citizens to join volunteer fire companies and ambulance corps is literally a matter of life and death. Our firefighters and ambulance corps volunteers devote many hours of time in training and service.  They have answered the call for public service.  This legislation provides a small incentive for these volunteers and encourages citizens to participate in these important public services.”

Nonna, who sponsored the legislation, said that the exemption will mean several hundred dollars in annual property tax savings to each of the county’s 2,100 eligible volunteers. He said the savings would multiply meaningfully if all the municipalities and school districts approved the exemption as well.  To date, about 10 towns in Westchester passed the legislation.

“The county’s portion of the tax bill is only 15 to 20 percent of the average property tax bill,” said Nonna.  “The exemption’s value would grow significantly if all the municipalities and school districts--- which constitute the other 80% of the property tax bill ---- approved the same measure.”

Both Nonna and County Legislator Peter Harckham (D-WF, Katonah), who co-sponsored the measure, noted that the volunteer departments saved local municipalities many millions of dollars.

“Valhalla now spends about $600,000 to support the local volunteer district,” said Nonna. “It’s estimated that it would cost the municipality between $5-$7 million if they had to fund a paid professional department.”

Harckham whose district includes six towns --- all with volunteer firefighter and ambulance service members said that the exemption is an important investment in the local communities.

“Our towns and villages can’t afford to lose volunteers because local budgets could not afford the dramatically increased costs of replacing these volunteer services,” said Harckham. “Volunteers contribute a great deal to the safety of their communities. The exemption is an acknowledgement of the value of their public service which in some cases has extended for generations. It’s also a small incentive to encourage citizens to join.”

Harckham said that the volunteers must put their own lives in danger to fight a fire and must be willing to put whatever they’re doing on hold to respond to a call. “A tax exemption on their property taxes is a way for the community to give something back for their dedicated service,” Harckham said.

County Legislator Michael Kaplowitz (D-IN-WF, Somers) noted that he has been working on the exemption issue for the last 10 years.

“We are a diverse county in so many respects,” said Kaplowitz. “We are at our best when pulling together and helping each other out. This is one of those trade-offs. The northern part of the county may have minimal Bee Line bus service but the whole county supports the need for transportation. In the same way, the more rural communities up north function well with volunteer fire and ambulance departments which save millions in municipal costs. This is a way for the whole county to support what is good for the northern section of the county.”

County Legislator Judy Myers said the exemption legislation is important to one of the communities she represents. “The cost-benefit of the exemption is clear,” said Myers. “The cost of housing makes it difficult to retain an all volunteer department like the one in the Village of Mamaroneck. Anything that can help make it easier for volunteers to continue to live in the Village is a great investment.”

“I’m really pleased that volunteer first responders in the river communities will be given a little bit of extra help to allow them to stay and continue to do the things they love doing. This is more than just a small amount of tax relief. It’s an indication of how much we all respect what they do and how much we want them to continue volunteering,”  said County Legislator Bill Burton (D-IN, Ossining).