[Adopted 1-1-2013]
It is the purpose of this article to honor a police officer
or firefighter who dies while in the performance of his or her duties
for the Town of Easton and to ease the resulting financial burden
of his/her surviving spouse.
This article is enacted pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes
§ 12-81x, which authorizes a municipality to provide for
the abatement of property taxes with respect to real property owned
and occupied as the principal residence of the surviving spouse of
a police officer or firefighter who dies while in the performance
of such officer's or firefighter's duties.
For purposes of this article, the following terms shall have
the following meanings:
With regard to firefighters, the term "duties" shall be defined
as duties performed while traveling to, at, or returning from fires
or fire-related calls, answering alarms of fires or calls for mutual
aid assistance, while traveling to, at, or returning from tests or
trials of any apparatus or equipment normally used by the Fire Department
and/or Fire Company, while instructing or being instructed in fire
duties, and while performing any other duty ordered to be performed
by a superior or a commanding officer in the Fire Company or Fire
Department.
With regard to police officers, the term "duties" shall be defined
as any action which a police officer is obligated or authorized by
law, rule, regulation or written condition of service to perform.
Any person who is a duly designated member of Easton Volunteer
Fire Company Number 1, Inc. ("Fire Company"), or an employee of the
Easton Fire Department ("Fire Department").
A duly sworn member of the Easton Police Department.
A person who was a resident of the Town of Easton and married
to or partner in a civil union with a police officer or a firefighter
at the time of the police officer's or firefighter's death.
In accordance with § 12-81x of the Connecticut General
Statutes, there is hereby established an abatement of 100% of the
property taxes due with respect to real property owned and occupied
as the principal residence of the surviving spouse of a police officer
or a firefighter who dies while in the performance of such officer's
or firefighter's duties.
The tax abatement program adopted hereunder shall apply to all
such property taxes due as of January 1, 2013, and thereafter.
The tax abatement in any given case shall remain in effect for
so long as the surviving spouse occupies the property as his or her
primary residence and holds legal title to the property. If a surviving
spouse subsequently purchases a different property in the Town of
Easton as his or her primary residence and all other qualifying criteria
are satisfied, the tax abatement shall apply to the newly purchased
property. The tax abatement may only apply to one property at any
time.
Upon the death of any person receiving tax abatement pursuant
to this article, the tax abatement hereunder shall end 90 days thereafter.
If a person entitled to tax abatement hereunder conveys legal
title to the property with respect to which the tax abatement hereunder
has been granted, the tax abatement shall terminate as to that property
as of the date of the conveyance and the nonqualifying grantee of
such property shall henceforth be liable for the payment of municipal
taxes on the property in accordance with the provisions of § 12-81a
of the Connecticut General Statutes.
In the event title to the property with respect to which tax
abatement has been granted hereunder is held in the name of a qualifying
surviving spouse and one or more other nonqualifying persons, the
subject abatement shall be limited to the same proportion of the total
tax due as the surviving spouse's ownership interest bears to the
total. In such an instance, the surviving spouse must make application
to the Easton Tax Assessor to make a determination as to the percentage
of assessed taxes to be abated based upon his or her proportionate
ownership interest before any such abatement may be granted or continued.
The Tax Collector and the Tax Assessor shall prescribe such
forms and procedures as they deem necessary to implement this article.
The Assessor, in addition, shall take steps as necessary to satisfactorily
establish the facts as to the surviving spouse's ownership interest
in the property, on an initial and continuing periodic basis.
The Tax Collector shall maintain a cumulative record of all
taxes abated in accordance with this article.
If such surviving spouse remarries or enters into another civil
union, the abatement shall terminate as of the date of the remarriage
or civil union.
For purposes of this article, police officers and firefighters
shall not be deemed to be in the performance of their respective duties
while commuting "portal to portal" between residence and work except
for members of the Fire Company responding to a fire call, members
of the Fire Department responding to a fire call or a call back while
not on a regular shift, or members of the Police Department responding
to a call.
If a police officer or a firefighter who does not reside in
the Town of Easton dies while in the performance of his or duty, a
determination shall be made as to whether the surviving spouse would
have been eligible for benefits under this article if the spouse had
resided in Easton. This determination shall be made by a special committee
appointed by the Board of Selectmen and consisting of one member of
the Board of Selectmen, the Tax Assessor, one member each of the Police
Commission and Fire Commission and one member of the Board of Finance.
If it is determined that the surviving spouse would have been eligible
for abatement under this article if the spouse had been an Easton
resident, the special committee shall recommend to the Board of Selectmen
that a payment be made to the surviving spouse's town of residence
for the real property taxes assessed to the surviving spouse. The
special committee will meet annually to determine the ongoing eligibility
of the surviving spouse and to make a recommendation to the Board
of Selectmen based upon its findings.
This article will take effect retroactive to January 1, 2013.
