The York County Board of Commissioners is dedicated to promoting public safety for the citizens of York County, which includes taking steps to ensure the long-term health of the County’s fire companies and non-profit emergency medical services agencies. Volunteers make up a sizeable portion of the County’s emergency service organizations and the Board of Commissioners wishes to honor and encourage their selfless service to our community.

To that end, today the Board of Commissioners of York County approved a property tax refund program for members of fire companies and non-profit emergency medical service providers. This program is designed to provide property tax relief to those individuals who maintain active volunteer service and those who are unable to do so due to injury incurred in the line of duty.

Please review details of the program below and follow this link to the application. 

RESOLUTION 2022-27 

A RESOLUTION OF THE YORK COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, ENACTING TAX REFUND FOR VOLUNTEER MEMBERS OF FIRE COMPANIES AND NONPROFIT EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE AGENCIES; AND ESTABLISHING ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES AND APPEALS

SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS.

The following words and phrases when used in this ordinance shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

“Agency Supervisor” The Chief of Fire Departments (or designee), or the supervisor of the nonprofit emergency medical service agency listed in attachment 1. 

“County” York County.

“Eligible Agency” A fire company or nonprofit emergency medical service agency identified in attachment 1.

“Emergency Responder” A volunteer who responds to an emergency call with one of the entities identified in Section 2(D).

“Emergency Response Call” Any emergency call to which a volunteer responds, including travel directly from and to a volunteer’s home, place of business or other place where he/she shall have been when the call was received. 

“Social /Supporting Member” A volunteer who is social member with one of the entities identified in Section 2(D).

“Qualified Real Property” A residential real property owned and occupied as the primary domicile of an active volunteer. 

“Volunteer” A member of a fire company or nonprofit emergency medical service agency identified in Section 2(D) who has complied with, and is certified under, the Volunteer Service Tax Refund Program. The volunteer can either be an emergency responder and / or a social member. 

SECTION 2. VOLUNTEER SERVICE TAX REFUND PROGRAM.

1. Establishment. The York County Board of Commissioners hereby establishes a Volunteer Service Tax Refund Program. The goal of the program is to encourage membership and service in York County’s fire companies and nonprofit emergency medical service agencies. 

2. Establishment of Criteria. The York County Board of Commissioners hereby establishes, and may from time to time establish by resolution, the annual criteria that must be met to qualify for tax refund under the Volunteer Service Tax Refund Program. Unless or until changed by Resolution, the criteria will remain unchanged from year to year. 

3. Initial Criteria. To qualify for tax refund under the Volunteer Service Tax Refund Program, an individual must have been a member of an Eligible Agency for one full year as of the date of the application, and the individual must earn a minimum of 50-100 points from a combination of the following categories: 

1. Emergency Responses (Fire or Ambulance Call)
   1. 1 Point per emergency response
2. Training
   1. Department Training – 5 Points per training
   2. Certified Training – 5 Points per 8 hours
   3. Hazardous Materials Refresher – 5 Points
   4. Annual Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus – 2 Points
   5. Annual Driver Recertification – 4 Points
3. Meetings
   1. Fire Department Meetings – 4 Points per meeting
   2. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Meetings – 4 Points per meeting
   3. Committee Meetings – 2 Points per meeting
   4. Board of Officers/Relief/Officer’s Meetings – 2 Points per meeting
   5. Relief Meeting – 2 Points per meeting
4. Work Details
   1. Scheduled Work Details – 5 Points per detail
5. Fire Prevention/Public Education Activities
   1. Fire Prevention Activities – 5 Points per event
   2. Public Education Events (Parades, Carnivals, etc.) – 3 Points per event

4. Eligible Entities. The Volunteer Service Tax Refund Program is available to residents of York County who are volunteers of an Eligible Agency and otherwise meet the requirements of the program described herein.

5. Eligibility Period. To qualify for a tax refund under the Volunteer Service Tax Refund Program, a volunteer must meet the minimum criteria established in this Resolution and any subsequent amendments, during the eligibility period running from January 1 until December 31 of each calendar year.

6. Record Keeping. The Agency Supervisor shall keep specific records of each volunteer’s activities in a service log to establish credits under the Volunteer Service Tax Refund Program. The Agency Supervisor annually shall transmit to the Chief Financial Officer of York County an eligibility list of all volunteers that have met the minimum criteria for the Volunteer Service Tax Refund Program. The notarized eligibility list shall be transmitted to the Chief Financial Officer no later than March 30th of each year, showing the names of those members who met the eligibility criteria during the preceding Eligibility Period. The Agency Supervisor may post the eligibility list in an accessible area of the volunteer agency’s facilities.

7. Injured Volunteers. An emergency responder who is injured during an emergency response call may be eligible for future tax refunds and may appear on the eligibility list provided by the Agency Supervisor. The injury must have occurred while responding to, participating in, or returning from an emergency response call with an Eligible Agency.
   
   If an individual’s name appears on an eligibility list, the eligibility list shall indicate explicitly that the individual’s eligibility is as an injured volunteer and shall be accompanied by satisfactory documentation from a licensed physician stating that the individual’s injury prevents him or her from performing duties to qualify as an active volunteer. In such a case, the injured emergency responder shall be deemed an active volunteer for that Eligibility Period
   
   An injured emergency responder shall annually submit updated documentation from a licensed physician stating that the injury still exists and prevents the individual from qualifying as an active volunteer and upon submitting such documentation again shall be deemed an active volunteer for that Eligibility Period. An injured emergency responder shall only be deemed an active volunteer for a maximum of three consecutive Eligibility Periods. 

SECTION 3. TAX REFUND.

1. Tax Refund. Each volunteer whose name appears on the eligibility list and who complies with the requirements of this County Volunteer Service Refund Program shall be eligible to receive a tax refund, in an amount described herein, on qualified real estate taxes paid to the county.

2. Amount and Limit. The credit provided by this Resolution shall be based on the number of points the active volunteer earned not to exceed 50% of the qualified county real estate tax.
   1. Qualified Real Property Tax Refund for Emergency Responders
      1. To receive a 50% tax rebate, 100 Points must be achieved.
      2. To receive a 25% tax rebate, 50 points must be achieved.
   2. Qualified Real Property Tax Refund for Social / Supporting Member
      1. To receive a 25% tax rebate, 50 points must be achieved.

SECTION 4. PROCEDURES.

1. Application. A volunteer who has met the minimum criteria of the Volunteer Service Tax Refund Program may apply for the tax refund provided herein by submitting to the Agency Supervisor a completed application for the Volunteer Service Tax Refund Program, using a form provided by the County. The Agency Supervisor must submit the volunteer’s application to the Chief Financial Officer of York County by March 30th of each year. Applications shall not be accepted by the County after such date. The following must be submitted by the active volunteer along with the completed application: 
   1. If the volunteer is seeking any credit against the real property tax on qualified real property, a true and correct receipt from the County real estate tax collector showing the paid County real property taxes for the tax year in which the application is being filed.
   2. Photo identification
   3. Documentation that the tax paid was for qualified real property as defined in this Resolution.
   4. If deemed acceptable in the discretion of the Agency Supervisor, any other documentation that in lieu of the above items may reasonably confirm the active volunteer’s eligibility for the credit.

2. Application Review. Agency Supervisor shall review the completed applications for credit under the Volunteer Service Tax Refund Program and shall cross reference them with the eligibility list. If an applicant appears on the eligibility list and provides all documents required under this section, the Agency Supervisor shall approve the Real Estate Tax Refund Application and submit it to the Chief Financial Officer no later than March 30th of each year.

3. Rejection of Application. The Agency Supervisor shall reject an application for a real estate tax refund if the taxpayer is not on the official eligibility list or does not provide the documents required by this Section. If the Agency Supervisor rejects the application, the taxpayer shall be notified in writing of the decision. The notice shall include the reasons for the rejection and provide the method of appealing the decision pursuant to Section 5. Taxpayers shall have 30 days to appeal the decision of the Agency Supervisor to York County as set forth in this Resolution.

4. Real Estate Refund Application. The Chief Financial Officer shall approve the Real Estate Tax Refund Application(s) for all volunteers who are eligible to receive the refund and forward the request to the York County Treasurer.

5. Payment of Credit. Once the Chief Financial Officer approves the annual Tax Refund Request, the York County Treasurer will be notified. The York County Treasurer shall issue the tax refund to the volunteer, no later than May 30th. 

SECTION 5. APPEALS.

1. Appeal Rights Generally. Any taxpayer aggrieved by a decision under Section 3 shall have a right to appeal said decision, by filing an appeal within thirty (30) days of the rejection of an application.

2. Method of Appeal. All appeals of decisions based on real estate tax shall follow the provisions of the Act of May 5, 1998, P.L.301, No. 50, known as the Local Taxpayers Bill of Rights. All appeals relating to real property tax shall follow the provisions of 2 Pa.C.S. Chapter 5, Subchapter B (relating to practice and procedure of local agencies), and 2 Pa.C.S. Chapter 7, Subchapter B (relating to judicial review of local agency action), also known as the “Local Agency Law.”

SECTION 6. SEVERABILITY.

If any provision, section, sentence, clause, or part of this Resolution is held to be invalid, such invalidity shall not affect or impair any remaining provision, section, sentence, clause, or part of the ordinance, it being the intent of the Municipality that such remainder shall be and shall remain in full force and effect for this purpose the provisions of this Resolution are hereby declared to be severable.

SECTION 7. AUDIT.

The York County Government Controllers Office may audit program documentation on an annual basis.

SECTION 8. EFFECTIVE DATE.

This ordinance shall be effective upon adoption for Eligibility Periods starting January 1, 2023, for county real estate tax starting January 1, 2023.

RESOLVED AND ADOPTED at a duly advertised public meeting of the York County Board of Commissioners on this           day of            _, 2022.