As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
ACTIVE
Certified by the Chief of the East Haddam Volunteer Fire
Department, LLC (hereinafter "the Fire Department"), or by the Chief
of the East Haddam Volunteer Ambulance Association (hereinafter "the
Ambulance"), on or before the certification date, as eligible for
tax exemption under this article.
CERTIFICATION DATE
March 15 of the assessment year commencing October 1, 2001,
and each assessment year thereafter.
ELIGIBLE RESIDENT
Each resident of the Town of East Haddam who volunteers his
or her services:
A.
As an active fire fighter for the Fire Department;
B.
As an active emergency medical technician, paramedic or ambulance
driver for the Ambulance; or
C.
As the volunteer Director of Civil Preparedness.
INCENTIVE
The reallocation of property tax burden among taxpayers described in §
290-11 below.
Each eligible resident shall be entitled to an exemption applicable
to the assessed value of real or personal property owned by said eligible
resident up to an amount equal to the quotient of $1,000,000 divided
by the mil rate, in effect at the time of assessment, expressed as
a whole number of dollars per $1,000 of assessed value.
The incentive shall be subject to the following limitations: residents who are eligible residents under one or more of Subsection A, B or C under the definition of "eligible residents” in §
290-9 shall be entitled to one incentive only.
All members of the Fire Department and the Ambulance shall be
eligible for the benefit under this article so long as they meet the
criteria for attendance at emergency responses, training and drills
for yearly credit toward the respective pension plans of the Fire
Department and the Ambulance.
The incentive shall not constitute compensation within the meaning of the provisions of §
84-2G of Chapter
84, Article
II, Volunteer Fire Pension Plan (Adopted, Town Meeting, December 13, 1990; Published, Middletown Press, December 4, 1990), nor shall it be deemed to impact the Ambulance pension plan.
The Fire Department and the Ambulance Association shall, on
an annual basis, submit a report to the Board of Selectmen describing
recruitment efforts, the number of volunteers in active service, and
the number who presently qualify and will qualify for this tax incentive
program in the future.