THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS FORWARDED BY THE NEW YORK
STATE ASSOCIATION OF FIRE CHIEFS PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE
FOR YOUR INFORMATION.
I know how some of you feel about this, but volunteering elps keep taxes down. I volunteer as a Medic for two different jurisdictions.
June 12, 2008
0608-23
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SENATE APPROVES LEGISLATION TO ENCOURAGE VOLUNTEER
RECRUITMENT
On June 10, the New York State Senate passed the "Emergency Services
Volunteer Incentive Act". Among other things, this bill would increase
income tax credits for volunteers with more than 4 years of service an
additional $400 (in addition to the current $200). This was passed
unanimously in the Senate. Now this bill must be approved by the New
York State Assembly.
Please contact your state assembly members and ask them to approve
A5186-C, the Assembly bill.
SENATE APPROVES LEGISLATION TO ENCOURAGE VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT
Albany, N.Y., June 10--The New York State Senate unanimously approved
today legislation sponsored by State Senator George Winner (R-C-I,
Elmira), chairman of the Legislative Commission on Rural Resources
(LCRR), to help localities fend off potentially enormous future local
property tax increases by offering incentives to recruit and retain
volunteer firefighters and other emergency services personnel.
The legislation was approved by a vote of 60 to 0.
Winner noted that Senate action on his legislation, the "Emergency
Services Volunteer Incentive Act," comes in the wake of last week's
report from the state Commission on Property Tax Relief. The
commission's report, which among other recommendations calls for the
state to implement a cap on school property tax increases, has made the
issue of high property taxes No. 1 on the state's to-do list.
"High property taxes are the talk of the day throughout New York
government. Volunteer recruitment and retention demands a place in the
discussion. This issue warns of the next explosive property tax crisis
facing localities across New York. We need to keep sounding the alarm,"
said Winner. "It would cost billions of dollars for local property
taxpayers to pay for the critical services currently provided by
volunteer firefighters and EMTs."
The Firemen's Association of the State of New York (FASNY) estimates
that it would cost local taxpayers more than $5 billion annually to
replace volunteers with paid fire and ambulance services. According to
FASNY, the number of volunteer firefighters statewide has declined from
140,000 in the early 1990s to fewer than 90,000 today. Volunteer
emergency medical technicians (EMTs) experienced a decline from more
than 50,000 to 35,000 during the same period, with some rural counties
experiencing as much as a 50-percent depletion of their
EMT ranks.
Winner has sponsored the "Emergency Services Volunteer Incentive Act"
since 2005 and has been reaching out to Assembly leaders to encourage
bipartisan support on the issue. The measure is sponsored by Assemblyman
David Koon (D-Fairport), vice chair of the LCRR, and is currently in the
Assembly Ways and Means Committee. It must be approved by the Assembly
and be signed by Governor David Paterson before becoming law. While the
importance of local first responders to community safety and security
was widely recognized and praised in the aftermath of the September 11th
tragedy, Winner said that it continues to be difficult, for a variety of
reasons, for many local fire departments and ambulance companies to
recruit and retain volunteers. He noted that some departments already
employ paid, around-the-clock firefighters supported by volunteers. In
response, Winner's "Emergency Services Volunteer Incentive Act" would:
* *provide a $400 state income tax credit for volunteer
firefighters and ambulance workers who have been active for four or more
consecutive years. This new tax incentive would be in addition to the
$200 income tax credit currently available to volunteers after one year
of service;
* *exempt motor vehicles owned and used in the performance of duty
by an emergency services volunteer from motor vehicle registration fees
and vehicle use taxes;
* *authorize local volunteer fire and ambulance companies to use
state administered funds, collected annually through a two-percent fire
insurance premium tax on out-of-state insurers, to help offset the cost
of health insurance for their members;
* *increase the number of qualified candidates, from one to three,
that volunteer companies can submit for participation in New York's
"Volunteer Recruitment Service Scholarships" program, a college tuition
assistance program for volunteers created by state lawmakers in 2002;
and
* *direct the state Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) to
create a volunteer recruitment service college loan forgiveness program.
FASNY: Low Cost Health Insurance for FFs
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