The personal income-tax credit available to volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers in New York State just quadrupled.
Signed into law on Oct. 17 by Gov. Kathy Hochul, and co-sponsored by Assemblyman Tommy John Schiavoni, who represents the First District here, the legislation increased the credit from $200 to $800 for individuals and from $400 to $1,600 for married couples. It will go into effect beginning in tax year 2027.
In another nod to volunteers, they can now receive the new tax incentive alongside the current 10-percent property-tax reduction East Hampton Town already offers. Up until the signing of the law, volunteers had to choose between the income-tax credit or the property-tax credit.
Jake Turner, the town attorney, did not confirm that the two tax credits could be stacked for volunteers; however, that is the way the legislation appears to read.
In 2023, East Hampton Town reduced the length of service that a first responder must meet to receive the credits, from five years to two years.
“It’s a nice gesture of recognition for all of the sacrifices the volunteer first-responder community endures to provide for the community,” texted Peter Joyce Jr., the chief of the Montauk Fire Department.
“Any type of incentive is good and welcome,” agreed Gerry Turza, the fire and emergency medical services administrator for East Hampton Village and chairman of the Suffolk County Fire Rescue and Emergency Services Commission.
Statewide, and even nationwide, enrollment in volunteer corps has been on a downward trend for decades.
“There are 20,000 less volunteer firefighters today than there were in New York State 20 years ago,” reads the legislation. “Raising this tax credit will be a critically important recruitment and retention tool for our local departments and help to bolster volunteer ranks for every single fire department across the state and recognize the invaluable service these men and women provide to our citizens and communities.”
Here on the South Fork, enrollment may not be as dwindling as it is statewide.
According to Mr. Joyce, incentives are a hot topic among volunteers.
“The struggle for our district, as well as others, will always be the cost of living making it difficult for keeping the youth local and available to take on the commitment of volunteering,” he texted.
“At present, Montauk has been fortunate to see a resurgence of the younger generations joining. We actively recruit community members we think would be a good fit. We are also beginning to see members of our juniors program making the commitment to full membership after completing their education.”
“For people who volunteer, many times it’s not incentives outside of themselves,” said Mary Mott, the former chief of the East Hampton Village Ambulance and a longtime instructor in emergency medical response. “It’s more, ‘I want to help my community,’ or it could be maybe they interacted with the E.M.S. or fire department and they feel, ‘They helped my family and I want to give back.’ ”
“So, it’s more a personal decision,” she said. “But I also feel that knowing when you join there are these benefits, now people put them together and it gives you more of a positive feeling. I can help my community and also receive some extra breaks.”
“It’s definitely something that people are grateful for,” she added. “Will it drive our numbers up on the East End? I’m not so sure.” She said the village ambulance now has 42 current members, which she described as “a healthy number.” Surprisingly, many of them are now young.
“One third are younger than 25,” she said. “A lot of young people want to be part of something that is positive. For many, working with E.M.S. is a segue to a medical career.”
In fact, perhaps it is the youth that the new incentives are targeting. Most people under age 25, at least in East Hampton, don’t have the money to buy a house of their own and receive the property tax incentive. The increase in the personal income tax credit allows them to receive at least some monetary benefit.
“Every incentive means that we’re being thought about and that’s a step in the right direction,” said Mr. Turza. He said municipalities should consider other ways to reward younger responders, perhaps with first-time homebuyer programs or mortgage relief. For those who rent, maybe, he said, there could be a rent subsidy.
He said recruitment at the Fire Department has been strong recently. “We’re doing well. We had a surge over the last year and a half. We took in 25 new members. So, we’re in pretty decent shape, which is probably different from many smaller, less populated places upstate.”
The income-tax credit had not been raised since the bill was first enacted in 2007. The increase comes following a recommendation of the Volunteer Firefighter Recruitment and Retention Task Force. To receive the credit, volunteers must have been active for the entire taxable year for which the credit is sought.
After a volunteer accrues more than 20 years of service, the exemption is granted for life, as long as the member’s primary residence remains within Suffolk County.
