[Adopted 10-11-2018 by Ord. No. 394]
The scope of this article relates to Act 172 of 2016 and its
intended incentives for municipal volunteers of fire companies.
The purpose of this article is to authorize the Borough to enact
and implement a tax credit against a qualified volunteer's tax
liability as a financial incentive to (1) acknowledge the value and
services provided by volunteers; and (2) encourage individuals to
volunteer, or for former volunteers to consider rejoining as active
volunteers, in the fire company that provides direct coverage and
community assistance to Schwenksville Borough, currently Lower Frederick
Fire Company.
The following words and phrases when used in this article shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the context
clearly indicates otherwise.
A volunteer for the Lower Frederick Fire Company who has
complied with and is certified under the Volunteer Service Tax Credit
Program.
Local tax adopted by Schwenksville Borough pursuant to Act
511 on earned income. Currently set at 0.5% of qualifying earned income.
Tax Collector for earned income tax appointed by the Montgomery
County Tax Collection Committee for Montgomery County municipalities.
The twelve-month timeframe when volunteers may earn credit
to qualify under the Volunteer Service Credit Program.
A volunteer who responds to an emergency call with the Lower
Frederick Fire Company.
Any emergency call to which a volunteer responds, including
travel directly from and to a volunteer's home, place of business
or place where he/she shall have been when the call was received.
An active volunteer who was injured during a response to
an emergency call and can no longer serve as an active volunteer because
of the injury and who would otherwise be eligible for tax credits
under this article shall be eligible for such tax credits for the
succeeding five tax years.
A residential real property owned and occupied in Schwenksville
Borough as the primary domicile of the active volunteer certified
as a qualified volunteer by the Borough of Schwenksville.
A volunteer who has been certified by the Fire Chief of Lower
Frederick Fire Company and Schwenksville Borough Council to have satisfied
the Program criteria established annually by resolution of Borough
Council in conformance with § 151-36B of this article.
A member in good standing with the Lower Frederick Fire Company.
A.
Establishment. Schwenksville Borough hereby establishes a Volunteer
Firefighter Service Credit Program.
B.
Program criteria.
(1)
Schwenksville Borough Council shall establish by resolution the annual criteria that must be met to qualify for credits under the Program based on the criteria listed in Subsection B(2) through (7); the resolution is subject to amendment or clarification, and all applicants must reapply annually subject to the current program criteria;
(2)
Residency in Schwenksville Borough and active volunteer status for
the Lower Frederick Fire Company;
(3)
The number of emergency response calls to which a volunteer responds
(resolution shall establish the threshold);
(4)
The annual formal training and drills as a volunteer participated
in (resolution shall establish the threshold);
(5)
The total amount of time expended by a volunteer on administrative
and other support services, including but not limited to (resolution
shall establish the threshold):
(6)
The involvement in other events or projects that aid the financial
viability, emergency response or operational readiness of a volunteer
fire company;
(7)
The total number of years the volunteer has served (a minimum threshold
shall be established by resolution).
C.
Eligible entity. The Volunteer Service Credit Program is available
to residents of Schwenksville Borough who are qualified volunteers
of the Lower Frederick Fire Company.
D.
Eligibility period. The time frame when volunteers may earn credit
under the Volunteer Service Tax Credit Program for credit the following
tax year.
(1)
The eligibility period for a 2018 qualified volunteer under the Volunteer
Service Tax Credit Program shall run from January 1, 2018, through
December 31, 2018;
(2)
The eligibility period for a 2019 qualified volunteer shall run from
January 1, 2019, through December 31, 2019; and annually in the same
time frame thereafter.
E.
Application. Volunteers that have met the minimum criteria of the
Volunteer Service Credit Program shall sign and submit an application
for certification to their Chief not later than January 15 of the
year following the eligibility period. The Chief shall sign the application
if the volunteer has met the minimum criteria of the Volunteer Service
Credit Program established by resolution of the Schwenksville Borough
Council, and forward it to the Borough Manager. Applications shall
not be accepted by the Borough after January 31 of the year following
the eligibility period.
F.
Recordkeeping. The Chief of the Lower Frederick Volunteer Company
shall keep specific records of each volunteer's activities in
a service log to establish qualifying activities and hours of service
under the Volunteer Service Tax Credit Program. Service logs shall
be subject to review by the Schwenksville Borough Council, the State
Fire Commissioner and the State Auditor General. The Chief shall annually
transmit to the Borough a notarized eligibility list of all volunteers
that have met the minimum criteria for the Volunteer Service Tax Credit
Program. The notarized eligibility list shall be transmitted to the
Borough Manager no later than November 30th of each year for which
"active" volunteer status is claimed. The Chief shall post the notarized
eligibility list in an accessible area of the volunteer agency's
facilities as notification that applications are being received.
G.
Municipal review. The Borough Manager shall review the applications
for credits under the Volunteer Service Credit Program guidelines
and shall cross-reference them with the notarized eligibility list
provided by the Chief of the Lower Frederick Fire Company. Borough
Council shall consider for approval all applicants that are on the
notarized eligibility list no later than the February regular meeting
of Borough Council. All applicants approved by Borough Council shall
be issued a tax credit certificate by the Borough Manager to be remitted
with their local income tax return to the Earned Income Tax Collector
for the Montgomery County Tax Collection Committee.
H.
Official tax credit register. The Borough shall keep an official
tax credit register of all active, qualified fire company 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.
Exemption certificate. Within 10 days of the date Borough Council
certifies qualifying volunteers, the Borough Manager shall issue a
tax credit certificate to each qualified volunteer.
J.
Injured volunteers.
(1)
A fire company volunteer that is injured during an emergency response
call may be eligible for future tax credits. The firefighter must
have (1) already been certified as a qualified volunteer; (2) the
injury must have occurred while responding to, participating in, or
returning from an emergency response call for Lower Frederick Fire
Company while serving as a qualified volunteer.
(2)
An injured volunteer shall provide documentation from a licensed physician with the application required under § 151-38E stating that their injury prevents them from performing duties to qualify as an active volunteer. In such a case, the injured emergency responder shall be deemed an active volunteer for the qualifying period when the injury occurred.
(3)
An injured volunteer shall annually submit the application required under § 151-38E 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 volunteer shall again be deemed an active volunteer for that qualifying period. An injured volunteer shall only be deemed an active volunteer for a maximum of five consecutive tax years following the year in which the injury occurred (maximum of five years as qualified injured volunteer).
A volunteer may appeal the decision of the Fire Chief or Council
to not certify him or her as a qualifying volunteer by submitting
a written request for an appeal to be heard by Council to the Borough
Secretary within 10 days of the date of the Chief's or Council's
decision.
A.
Any person who knowingly makes or conspires to make a false application
for certification as a qualifying volunteer commits a misdemeanor
of the first degree punishable by a fine of $500.
B.
Any person who knowingly provides, or conspires to provide, a false
certification recommendation under this article commits a misdemeanor
of the first degree punishable by a fine of $500.
A.
Local earned income tax credit. Each qualified volunteer, as defined
and certified in accordance with the provisions of this article, shall
receive a tax credit of up to 100% of their local Borough earned income
tax not to exceed $500 in earned income tax credit per year. The credit
shall be applied to that portion of the earned income tax that is
payable to Schwenksville Borough and cannot exceed the qualified volunteer's
liability to Schwenksville Borough due on wages/net profits earned
in that tax year; or be in excess of $500. By resolution, the Schwenksville
Borough Council may adjust the amount of the earned income tax credit
at any time in its sole discretion.
B.
Limitations. The tax credits established by this article may be used
against the qualifying volunteer's tax liability for the current
taxable year and every taxable year the individual is qualified as
a qualified volunteer. The tax credits established by this article
shall remain in effect until the Borough repeals this article.
C.
The Earned Income Tax Collector for the Montgomery County Tax Collection
Committee shall reject the claim for an earned income tax credit if
the taxpayer fails to provide the tax credit certificate signed by
both the Lower Frederick Fire Company Chief and the Borough Manager.
D.
The Earned Income Tax Collector for the Montgomery County Tax Collection
Committee shall submit a report indicating the total amount of tax
credits issued for each taxable year.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent or in conflict
with any of the specific terms enacted hereby, to the extent of said
inconsistencies or conflicts, are hereby specifically repealed. Any
other terms and provisions of the Borough's Code unaffected by
this article are hereby reaffirmed and ratified.
Should any section, paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase in
this article be declared unconstitutional or invalid for any reason,
the remainder of the article shall not be affected thereby and shall
remain in full force and effect, and for this reason the provisions
of this article shall be severable.
This article shall become effective five days after enactment.
