Connellsville first responders could soon see tax credits
Residents of Connellsville City who are first responders through volunteer fire departments may soon have the option for tax credits if they meet certain requirements.
At their meeting this week, members of Connellsville City Council approved a resolution to introduce an ordinance implementing a volunteer service credit program and establishing credits for city earned income tax or city real estate taxes for active volunteer first responders.
Solicitor Tim Witt said the city will need to advertise the ordinance before they can officially adopt it as soon as their next council meeting scheduled for May 15.
Councilman Bob Topper Jr., who is a member of New Haven Hose Volunteer Fire Department, said the state adopted Act 172 in 2016 allowing tax credits for volunteer first responders after Representative Ryan Warner brought the legislation to the floor.
“A lot of municipalities are cutting back on paid departments and leaning more on volunteer departments, but the numbers are dwindling,” Topper said. “The state passed this as a way to help alleviate the pain of volunteer organizations who are seeing their numbers falling off.”
Any city resident who is a member of any volunteer fire service, not just New Haven Hose, is eligible to receive these tax credit as long as they meet certain parameters.
“The first level, where the individual would get a $200 tax rebate, can only be reached if the volunteer makes it to either 50 percent of the fire calls that year or 50 percent of the fundraisers,” Topper said. “You have to be very active to reach these goals. I can honestly say, as active as I am, I don’t think I’ve ever made 50 percent of the calls. The fundraisers are a little easier to make.”
In order to qualify for level two, which includes an additional $200 tax credit, volunteers would have to obtain at least 68 hours of state certification training or pass the fourth module, which requires a volunteer to complete over 166 hours of training.
Topper said the year an individual passes their fourth module, is the year they can qualify for the second level of the tax credit.
He thanked the health board for their part in helping to put together the ordinance and set the parameters for qualification.
“This is not something that we rushed into,” Topper said. “We took a lot of time going over the fine print and covering all of the bases to make it fair. The way it’s written, it requires a level of dedication that few firefighters ever reach.”
“This is a really good thing,” said Mayor Greg Lincoln. “I think it’s a small thank you for the volunteers who put their lives on the line for the city every day when they go out on these calls. I think this is a positive ordinance and I thank Rep. Warner for acknowledging the hard work that our volunteer fire fighters do.”
While Councilman Tom Karpiak voted in favor to introduce the ordinance, he said he still had a few concerns.
“I think this puts a lot of responsibility on the fire chief and the city clerk, and even though I have the utmost respect for New Haven Hose, is this something where someone could be involved in fraud,” he questioned. “I’m a little concerned with the book keeping end of things. I would’ve liked to see the tax office a little more involved.”
Lincoln said their auditor will no doubt guide the city on how to best handle this.
Witt said the process will more than likely require the city to review the eligibility of the list of individuals put together by the different fire departments.
“The city will certify the list and then the certifications will be sent out to the individuals, but we should definitely have our own forms for that certification to prevent fraud,” he said.
In other city business, officials agreed to extend the term of existence of the Connellsville Municipal Authority for another 50 years so that the authority can qualify for funding for an upcoming project.
Council agreed to hire Edward Younkin as a part-time dispatcher for the Connellsville Police Department at a rate of $7.75 an hour and Aaron Nicholson, Dean Peterson and Shane Mancuso as summer workers for the public works department at a rate of $7.50 an hour.
A resolution also passed to accept the bid of $109,891.50 by Victor Paving out of Monongahela for the 2018 street paving program.