Each qualifying volunteer of the Worcester Volunteer Fire Department
("Department") who is certified as such in accordance with the provisions
of this article, shall be entitled to receive an earned income tax
credit in an amount of up to $1,000 per year. The credit shall be
applied to that portion of the earned income tax that is payable to
Worcester Township and cannot exceed the volunteer's liability
to the Township for the earned income tax due on wages/net profits
earned in that tax year. By resolution the Board of Supervisors may
adjust the amount of the earned income tax credit at any time, in
its sole discretion.
A qualifying volunteer shall be defined as:
A. A volunteer who has attained an annual participation score of 23%
or greater in the Department's Length of Service Award Program,
as described in Exhibit A. The volunteer must have served as an active volunteer
in good standing for the entire calendar year. By resolution the Board
of Supervisors reserves the right to revise the minimum participation
score and/or any of the criteria utilized in the Length of Service
Award Program, or to create other qualifying criteria to be utilized
in lieu of the Length of Service Award Program criteria, in whole
or in part, at its sole discretion.
B. A volunteer who has been injured during a response to an emergency
call and who can no longer serve as an active volunteer because of
the injury. A volunteer so injured and unable to serve shall be deemed
a qualifying volunteer until December 31 of the year of the fifth
anniversary of the date of injury.
C. A volunteer who holds one of the following Department positions in
good standing, for a minimum of nine months in the calendar year:
Fire Chief, President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Chairman
of Trustees and Chairman of Relief Trustees. For the purpose of determining
a qualifying volunteer, one person only may serve in each position
at any time.
On or before January 15 of each year volunteers shall sign and
submit an application for a qualifying volunteer to the Fire Chief.
The Fire Chief shall review all applications submitted, sign each
application, and indicate on each application if he recommends the
volunteer to be certified as qualifying volunteer or not. On or before
January 30 of each year the Fire Chief shall forward all applications
received, with all supporting documentation, to the Board of Supervisors.
The Board of Supervisors shall review the applications and supporting
documentation and shall, by a motion of the Board, certify all qualifying
volunteers on or before March 1 of each year. Only those volunteers
certified by the Board of Supervisors shall receive the earned income
tax credit, and this credit may be utilized for any earned incomes
taxes paid or payable to the Township during or for the previous calendar
year only.
A volunteer may appeal the decision of the Board of Supervisors
to not certify him or her as a qualifying volunteer by submitting
a written request for binding arbitration to the Township Secretary
within 10 days of the date of the Board's decision. The binding
arbitration shall be conducted in accordance with the rules of the
American Arbitration Association, and any costs for the arbiter and
the proceeding only shall be shared equally by the parties.
Within 10 days of the date the Board of Supervisors certifies
qualifying volunteers, the Township Secretary shall issue an exemption
certificate to each qualified volunteer, which shall be in a form
acceptable to the Tax Collector appointed by the Montgomery County
Tax Collection Committee to collect the earned income tax.