[Adopted 5-14-2019 by Ord. No. 840]
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:
ACTIVE VOLUNTEER
A volunteer for a volunteer fire company or nonprofit emergency medical service agency listed under § 203-64C, who has complied with, and is certified under, the Volunteer Service Credit Program.
EARNED INCOME TAX
A tax on earned income and net profits levied under Chapter 3 of the Act of December 31, 1965 (P.L. 1257, No. 511), known as "The Local Tax Enabling Act," as amended.
ELIGIBILITY PERIOD
The time frame when volunteers may earn credit under the Volunteer Service Credit Program.
EMERGENCY RESPONDER
A volunteer who responds to an emergency call with one of the entities listed under § 203-64C.
EMERGENCY RESPONSE CALL
Any emergency call to which a volunteer responds, including travel directly from and to a volunteer's home, place of business or other place where he/she shall have been when the call was received.
QUALIFIED REAL PROPERTY
A residential real property owned and occupied as the domicile of an active volunteer.
VOLUNTEER
A member of a volunteer fire company or a nonprofit emergency medical service agency.
A. 
Establishment. In conjunction with Act 172 of 2016, the Borough of Westmont hereby establishes a Volunteer Service Credit Program. The goal of the Program is to encourage membership and service in the community's volunteer fire companies and nonprofit emergency medical service agencies.
B. 
Program criteria. The Westmont Borough Council hereby establishes, and hereafter may modify by resolution, the annual criteria that must be met for volunteers to qualify for credits under the Program based on the following:
(1) 
The number of emergency response calls to which a volunteer responds. 25 points are needed. One point for every fire call, emergency call, work detail, training, and fundraising within a one-calendar-year period.
(2) 
The level of training and participation in formal training and drills for a volunteer firefighter: Essentials in Firefighting Certification, 168 hours or equivalent state minimum requirement.
(3) 
The level of training for volunteer fire police: Basic Fire Police: 16 hours; Advanced Fire Police: 16 hours; and Legal Concepts for Fire Police: 16 hours or minimum state requirement. NIMS IS-100, two hours; and NIMS IS-700, 3.5 hours or minimum federal requirement.
(4) 
Both volunteer firefighters and volunteer fire police must maintain current Hazardous Material Operations Level Annual Refresher Training: six hours or the statutory annual minimum.
(5) 
The total amount of time expended by a volunteer on administrative and other support services, including but not limited to:
(a) 
Providing facility or equipment maintenance;
(b) 
Financial bookkeeping (financial officers only).
(6) 
The involvement in other events or projects that aid the financial viability, emergency response or operational readiness of a volunteer fire company or a nonprofit emergency medical service agency.
(7) 
The total number of years of service the volunteer shall serve to be eligible: minimum of one year.
C. 
Eligible entities. The Volunteer Service Credit Program is available to residents of Westmont Borough who are volunteers of the following volunteer fire companies and nonprofit emergency medical service agencies that provide service to the Borough of Westmont:
(1) 
West Hills Regional Fire Department, Inc., or its successor nonprofit Emergency Medical Services Agency, or their collective successors.
D. 
Eligibility period. A volunteer must meet the minimum criteria established herein during the eligibility period to qualify for the tax credits established for each subsequent calendar year.
(1) 
For the year 2019, and each subsequent year thereafter, the eligibility period shall run on a calendar year basis.
E. 
Recordkeeping. The Chief and/or the Emergency Services Director of the West Hills Regional Fire Department, Inc., or the Chief Executive Officer of the nonprofit Emergency Medical Service Agency successor listed under § 203-64C, 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 Westmont Borough Council, the State Fire Commissioner and the State Auditor General. The Chief, the Emergency Services Director or the successor supervisor shall annually transmit to the Borough 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 no later than January 15 of each year. The Chief, Emergency Services Director, or the successor supervisor shall post the notarized eligibility list in an accessible area of the volunteer agency's facilities.
F. 
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, Emergency Services Director, or successor supervisor who shall sign the application, if the volunteer has met the minimum criteria of the Volunteer Service Credit Program, and forward it to the Borough Secretary. Applications shall not be accepted by the Borough after April 1 of each year.
G. 
Municipal review. The Borough Secretary 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 shall approve all applicants that are on the notarized eligibility list. Applicants approved by the Borough Council shall be issued a Tax Credit Certificate by the Borough Secretary.
H. 
Official Tax Credit Register. The Borough of Westmont shall keep an official Tax Credit Register of all active volunteers that were issued Tax Credit Certificates. The Borough Secretary shall issue updates, as needed, of the official Tax Credit Register to the following:
(1) 
Borough of Westmont Council and Emergency Services Director;
(2) 
Chief of West Hills Regional Fire Department, Inc.;
(3) 
Chief Executive Officer or supervisor of the successor nonprofit Emergency Medical Services Agency;
(4) 
Tax Officer for the Borough of Westmont Tax Collection District.
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 § 203-64C.
(2) 
An injured emergency responder shall provide documentation from a licensed physician with the application required under § 203-64 stating that their injury prevents him or her from performing duties to qualify as an active volunteer. In such a case, 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 § 203-64, 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 Westmont Borough Volunteer Service Credit Program shall be eligible to receive a tax credit of up to $200 of the earned income tax levied by the Borough. When an active volunteer's earned income tax liability is less than the amount of the tax credit, the tax credit shall equal the individual's tax liability.
B. 
Claim. An active volunteer with a Tax Credit Certificate may file a claim for the tax credit on his or her Westmont Borough earned income tax liability when filing the final return for the preceding calendar year with the tax officer for the Westmont Borough Tax Collection District.
C. 
Rejection of Tax Credit claim.
(1) 
The Tax Officer shall reject a claim for a tax credit if the taxpayer is not on the official Tax Credit Register issued by the Borough Secretary.
(2) 
If the Tax Officer 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 § 203-67.
(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 Westmont Borough Volunteer Service Credit Program shall be eligible to receive a real property tax credit of 20% of the total Borough tax levy liability on qualified real property. 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 his or her 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 Treasurer. An active volunteer shall file the following with the Borough Secretary:
(a) 
A true and correct receipt from the Borough Real Estate Tax Collector of the paid Borough real 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 article.
(2) 
If the active volunteer provides all documents required under this subsection to the satisfaction of the Borough Secretary, then the Borough Treasurer shall issue the tax refund to the active volunteer.
C. 
Rejection of the Tax Credit Claim.
(1) 
The Borough Secretary 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 Secretary 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 § 203-67.
(3) 
Taxpayers shall have 30 days to appeal the decision of the Borough Secretary.
A. 
Earned income tax credit appeals.
(1) 
Any taxpayer aggrieved by a decision under § 203-65 shall have a right to appeal said decision.
(2) 
A taxpayer shall have 30 days to appeal a decision or rejection of claim.
(3) 
All appeals of decisions under § 203-65 shall follow the provisions of the Act of May 5, 1998, P.L. 301, No. 50, known as the "Local Taxpayers Bill of Rights."
(4) 
Procedures are defined by Westmont Code § 203-58, Ordinance No. 744, adopted January 12, 1999, known as "Act 50 Local Taxpayers Bill of Rights."
B. 
Real property tax credit appeals.
(1) 
Any taxpayer aggrieved by a decision under § 203-66 shall have a right to appeal said decision.
(2) 
A taxpayer shall have 30 days to appeal a decision or rejection of claim.
(3) 
All appeals under § 203-66 shall follow the provisions of 2 Pa.C.S.A. Chapter 5, Subchapter B (relating to practice and procedure of local agencies), and 2 Pa.C.S.A. Chapter 7, Subchapter B (relating to judicial review of local agency action), also known as the "Local Agency Law."
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 Westmont Borough Council 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.
This article shall be effective on May 14, 2019, and shall apply to earned income taxes levied by the Borough of Westmont in 2019 and shall apply to real estate taxes levied by the Borough of Westmont in 2020, and each succeeding year thereafter.