[Adopted 8-20-2018 by Ord. No. 1012]
A.
Establishment. The Borough Council of the Borough of Pleasant Hills
hereby establishes a Volunteer Service Credit Program. The goal of
the program is to encourage membership and service in the Pleasant
Hills Volunteer Fire Company and, if applicable, nonprofit emergency
medical service agencies.
B.
Program criteria. The Borough Council of the Borough of Pleasant
Hills shall establish, by resolution, the criteria that must be met
to qualify for credits under the program based on the following:
C.
Eligible entities. The Volunteer Service Credit Program is available
to residents of the Borough of Pleasant Hills who are volunteers of
the following volunteer fire companies and nonprofit emergency medical
service agencies that provide services to the Borough of Pleasant
Hills:
(1)
Pleasant Hills Volunteer Fire Company.
D.
Eligibility period. A volunteer must meet the minimum criteria, set
by resolution under this section, during the eligibility period to
qualify for the tax credits established herein.
(1)
For 2018, and each subsequent year thereafter, the eligibility period
shall run from January 1st until December 31st.
E.
Recordkeeping. The Chief of the Pleasant Hills Volunteer Fire Company
shall keep specific records of each volunteer's activities in
a service log to establish credits under the Volunteer Service Credit
Program. Service logs shall be subject to review by the Borough Council
of the Borough of Pleasant Hills, the State Fire Commissioner and
the State Auditor General. The Chief shall annually transmit to the
Borough Manager a notarized eligibility list of all volunteers that
have met the minimum criteria for the Volunteer Service Credit Program.
The notarized eligibility list shall be transmitted to the Borough
of Pleasant Hills care of the Borough Manager no later than February
15th of each year. The Chief or supervisor shall post the notarized
eligibility list in an accessible area of the volunteer agency's
facilities. The eligibility list must be received by the Borough Manager
no later than 45 days before the tax notice is sent or the list shall
be ineligible for that year.
F.
Application. Volunteers that have met the minimum criteria of the
Volunteer Service Credit Program shall sign and submit an application
for certification to the Chief of the Volunteer Fire Company. The
Chief shall sign and approve the application if the volunteer has
met the minimum criteria of the Volunteer Service Credit Program and
forward it to the Borough Manager. Applications shall not be accepted
by the Borough after April 1st of each year.
G.
Municipal review. The Borough Manager shall review the applications
for credit under the Volunteer Service Credit Program and shall cross
reference them with the notarized eligibility list. The Borough Council
of the Borough of Pleasant Hills shall approve all applicants that
are on the notarized eligibility list. All applicants approved by
the Borough Council of the Borough of Pleasant Hills shall be issued
a tax credit certificate by the Borough Manager.
H.
Official tax credit register. The Borough of Pleasant Hills shall
keep an official tax credit register of all active volunteers that
were issued tax credit certificates. The Borough Manager shall issue
updates, as needed, of the official tax credit register to the following:
I.
Injured volunteers.
(1)
An emergency responder that is injured during an emergency response call may be eligible for future tax credits. The injury must have occurred while responding to, participating in, or returning from an emergency response call with one of the entities listed under Subsection C.
(2)
An injured emergency responder shall provide documentation from a
licensed physician stating that their injury prevents them from performing
duties to qualify as an active volunteer. In such cases, the injured
emergency responder shall be deemed an active volunteer for that tax
year.
(3)
An injured emergency responder shall annually submit the application required under Subsection F, along with updated documentation from a licensed physician stating that the injury still exists and prevents them from qualifying as an active volunteer. The injured emergency responder shall again be deemed an active volunteer for that tax year. An injured emergency responder shall only be deemed an active volunteer for a maximum of five consecutive tax years.
A.
Tax credit. Each active volunteer who has been certified under the
Borough of Pleasant Hills Volunteer Service Credit Program shall be
eligible to receive a tax credit of up to $500 of the earned income
tax levied by the Borough of Pleasant Hills. When an active volunteer's
earned income tax liability is less than the amount of the tax credit,
i.e. less than $500, the tax credit shall equal the individual's
tax liability and not more.
B.
Claim.
(1)
An active volunteer with a tax credit certificate may file a claim
for the tax credit on their Borough of Pleasant Hills's earned
income tax liability. Such claims shall be filed with the Tax Collector
of the Borough of Pleasant Hills.
C.
Rejection of tax credit claim.
(1)
The Tax Collector shall reject a claim for a tax credit if the taxpayer
is not on the official tax credit register issued by the Borough Manager.
(2)
If the Tax Collector rejects the claim, 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 § 330-60.
(3)
Taxpayers shall have 30 days to appeal the decision of the tax officer.
A.
Tax credit. Each active volunteer who has been certified under the
Borough of Pleasant Hills Volunteer Service Credit Program shall be
eligible to receive a property tax credit of 20% of the Borough tax
liability on qualified real property. This credit only applies to
the principal residence of the volunteer located within the Borough.
The real property tax credit shall only apply to the residence where
the volunteer is the record owner and actually lives. The credit shall
not apply to any other real property the volunteer owns. If the tax
is paid in the penalty period, the tax credit shall only apply to
the base tax year liability.
B.
Claim.
(1)
An active volunteer with a tax credit certificate may file a claim
for the tax credit on their qualified real property tax liability
for the Borough's real estate tax levy. The tax credit shall
be administered as a refund by the Borough. An active volunteer shall
file the following with the Borough Manager:
(a)
A true and correct receipt from the Borough real estate Tax
Collector of the paid Borough property taxes for the tax year which
the claim is being filed;
(b)
The tax credit certificate;
(c)
Photo identification;
(d)
Documentation that the tax paid was for qualified real property
as defined in this chapter.
(2)
If the active volunteer provides all documents required under this
subsection, the Borough Manager shall issue the tax refund to the
active volunteer.
C.
Rejection of the tax credit claim.
(1)
The Borough Manager shall reject the claim for a Borough real property tax credit if the taxpayer fails to provide the documents required under Subsection B(1).
(2)
If the Borough Manager rejects the claim, 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 § 330-60.
(3)
Taxpayers shall have 30 days to appeal the decision of the Borough
Manager.
In the event that any provision, section, sentence, clause,
or part of this article is held to be invalid, such invalidity shall
not affect or impair any remaining provision, section, sentence, clause
or part of the article, it being the intent of the Borough Council
of the Borough of Pleasant Hills that such remainder shall be and
shall remain in full force and effect and for this purpose the provisions
of this article are hereby declared to be severable.
The provisions of this article shall become effective 30 days
after enactment by the Borough Council of the Borough of Pleasant
Hills and the credits referenced herein shall apply to tax obligations
that come due in 2019 and the years thereafter.
