EMS And Fire Volunteer Tax Benefit

Going To Public Hearing

By John Voket

During a lighter moment at the Legislative Council’s ordinance subcommittee meeting Wednesday, chairman Francis Pennarola joked about proposed changes to a graduating tax relief program that is available to Newtown emergency services volunteers.

“The benefit will never get so high that we are sending them checks,” he said of the plan. Yet the newly revised Assessment Exemption for Volunteer and Ambulance Personnel is generally viewed as a key recruitment and retention tool for services that help keep taxes down and a ready corps of emergency responders fully staffed.

This ordinance was one of several acted upon by the council’s ordinance committee this week, paving the way for public hearings, possibly as early as February 7.

According to Mr Pennarola, the volunteer benefit was reviewed last year on the suggestion of Assessor Thomas DeNoto. Mr DeNoto pointed out an idiosyncrasy in the current benefit that actually diminishes the amount of property tax relief on long-term participants as assessments slowly creep up over time.

“The problem the assessor found was as the mill rate increases, the benefit decreases on a fixed assessment,” Mr Pennarola explained. “This proposal reduces the assessment annually as the mill rate goes up.”

A mill equates to one dollar of property tax on every one thousand dollars of assessed property, and applies to vehicles and real estate in this ordinance proposal. The program is not unique to Newtown, but is designated for use in the Connecticut General Statutes as one means to help towns attract and keep active emergency volunteers.

The eligibility requirements of the proposal can activate the relief once a volunteer has completed his or her third year of qualified service in any Newtown fire department or the ambulance service. The applicant must reside in and pay property taxes in Newtown, and the benefit cannot be transferred to another volunteer service, or to volunteers who reside elsewhere.

The participant must fulfill at least one of two criteria: The member must respond to a minimum of 25 calls in the calendar year preceding inclusion on any certified list, or the member must hold an administrative, commissioner, line officer, or support member position in one or more qualifying services.

Since the ordinance would provide a specific level of tax relief in an atmosphere where the other variables of mill rate and assessment fluctuate — typically upward — the benefit is calculated on a formula that results in a graduating benefit commensurate with years of service.

The first year a participant qualifies will provide a $250 relief benefit, but at the seventh year and beyond, the benefit is capped at $1,000 of property tax relief. In the case where a volunteer owns both real and personal property, the benefit first extends to the real estate tax.

If each of two married members of a household co-own the property in question, the benefit to each may be combined. A member who breaks from a service and subsequently returns, as in the case of a college student or military personnel, is entitled to have the former qualifying years counted toward benefits under the schedule.

If approved, the Legislative Council may, in any given year, adjust the level of relief to any or all qualified volunteers based on a majority vote of the full council.

In other business, the subcommittee also recommended an ordinance allowing the council to increase the number on the local Board of Assessment Appeals in any year following a reassessment or revaluation. This action will be required next year, after the town completes revaluation reports on all taxable properties.

Taxpayers and qualified voters will likely be invited to weigh in on this ordinance during the next scheduled public hearing. Residents will also have one more opportunity at that time to comment on a Pet Control Ordinance, which fixes increasing fines on individuals who are not cleaning up after their pets on town property, or controlling roaming animals.

The subcommittee modified the proposed ordinance language to accommodate existing rules already in effect on Newtown Parks and Recreation grounds. The penalties, which Mr Pennarola said are designed to help remind pet owners to be good neighbors, graduate from $25 for a first offense to $99 for the third offense and each subsequent occasion thereafter.