This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Mount Joy Township Volunteer Service Tax Credit Ordinance."
[Adopted 12-15-2025 by Ord. No. 352-2025]
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 a Fire Company who has complied with, and is certified under, the Volunteer Service Credit Program. Administrative staff, emergency responders and support staff are eligible to be considered as active volunteers, provided they meet the criteria.
The time frame when volunteers may earn credit under the Volunteer Service Credit Program.
A volunteer who responds to an emergency call with one of the entities listed under § 123-11B.
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.
Fire Department Mount Joy, Inc.; Friendship Fire Engine and Hose Company No. 1 of Elizabethtown, also known as Friendship Fire Department of Elizabethtown or Elizabethtown Fire Department; the Mastersonville Volunteer Fire Company; and Rheems Fire Company also known as Rheems Fire Department.
A residential real property in this Township owned and occupied as the domicile of an active volunteer.
Mount Joy Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
A member of a Fire Company.
A.
Establishment. The Township hereby establishes a Volunteer Service Credit Program. The goal of the program is to encourage membership and service in a Fire Company recognized by the Township and included within the definition of the term Fire Company in § 123-10.
B.
Eligible entities. The Volunteer Service Credit Program is available to residents of this Township who are volunteers as defined in this article.
D.
Recordkeeping. The Chief of the 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 Township, the State Fire Commissioner and the Auditor General. The chief shall annually transmit to the Township a notarized eligibility list of all volunteers that have met the minimum criteria for the Volunteer Service Credit Program which shall indicate the level of service in accordance with § 123-12A. The notarized eligibility list shall be transmitted to the Township no later than January 31 for the previous year's service eligibility. The chief shall post the eligibility list in an accessible area of the Fire Company's facilities.
E.
Application for certification by Fire Company Chief. Volunteers that have met the minimum criteria of the Volunteer Service Credit Program shall sign and submit an application for certification to his or her chief. The Chief shall sign the application if the volunteer has met the minimum criteria of the Volunteer Service Credit Program, shall specify the level of service in accordance with § 123-12A, and shall forward it to the Township Manager by April 1 of each year.
F.
Official Tax Credit Register. The Township shall keep an official Tax Credit Register of all active volunteers who were issued certifications by the Chief of the volunteer's Fire Company. The Township Manager shall issue updates, as needed, of the official Tax Credit Register to the following:
G.
Injured volunteers.
(1)
An emergency responder who is injured during an emergency response call or during a Fire Company-approved and/or-required training exercises may be eligible for future tax credits. The injury must have occurred while responding to, participating in, or returning from an emergency response call or Fire Company-approved and/or-required training exercises with one of the Fire Companies.
(2)
An injured emergency responder shall provide documentation from a licensed physician with the application required under § 123-11 stating that his or her 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 § 123-11, 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 and shall be eligible for a tax credit calculated in accordance with § 123-12A(2). 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 this Township Volunteer Service Credit Program shall be eligible to receive a grant of real property tax credit as follows:
(1)
Emergency responders, basic level. The volunteer must respond to 20% of emergency and nonemergency fire responses that a Fire Company is dispatched to. If the 20% is met by the volunteer, he or she is eligible for a 20% rebate from the Township real estate taxes.
(2)
Emergency responders, advanced level. The volunteer must respond to 40% of emergency and nonemergency fire responses that a Fire Company is dispatched to. If the 40% is met by the volunteer, he or she is eligible for a 40% rebate from the Township real estate taxes.
(3)
Administrative staff, basic level. The volunteer must attend 45% of the Fire Company meetings and Board of Director meetings for the Fire Company. If the 45% is met by the volunteer, he or she is eligible for a 20% rebate from the Township real estate taxes.
(4)
Administrative staff, advanced level. The volunteer must attend 90% of the Fire Company meetings and Board of Director meetings for the Fire Company. If the 90% is met by the volunteer, he or she is eligible for a 40% rebate from the Township real estate taxes.
(5)
Support staff, basic level. The volunteer must actively participate in 75 hours of fundraising activity offered by a Fire Company. Fundraising activities include bingo, kitchen, steak and seafood festival, barbeques and any events used for raising funds for the benefit of the Fire Company. If the 75 hours is met by the volunteer, he or she is eligible for a 20% rebate from the Township real estate taxes.
(6)
Support staff, advanced level. The volunteer must actively participate in 150 hours of fundraising activity offered by the Fire Company. Fundraising activities include bingo, kitchen, steak and seafood festival, barbeques and any events used for raising funds for the benefit of the Fire Company. If the 150 hours is met by the volunteer, he or she is eligible for a 40% rebate from the Township real estate taxes.
B.
Calculation of credit. If the Township real estate tax is paid in the penalty period, the tax credit shall only apply to the base tax year liability.
C.
Application to Township.
(1)
An active volunteer may file an application for the tax credit on his or her qualified real property tax liability for the Township's real estate tax levy. An active volunteer shall file the following with the Township Manager:
(a)
Completed application form.
(b)
A true and correct receipt from the Township real estate tax collector of the paid Township real property taxes for qualified real property or a cancelled check showing the payment of Township real property taxes for qualified real property for the tax year which the application is being filed.
(c)
Photo identification.
(2)
If the active volunteer provides all documents required under this subsection and has received the necessary certification by the Chief of the volunteer's Fire Company, the Township Manager shall authorize the Township Treasurer to issue the tax refund to the active volunteer in the form of a property tax rebate.
D.
Rejection of the tax credit application.
(1)
The Township Manager shall reject the application for a Township real property tax credit if the volunteer has failed to meet the criteria in § 123-12A or fails to provide the documents required under § 123-12C(1).
Real property tax credit appeals.
A.
Any taxpayer aggrieved by a decision under § 123-12 shall have a right to appeal said decision to the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas.
B.
All appeals under § 123-13 shall follow the provisions of 2 Pa.C.S. Chapter 5, Subchapter B (relating to practice and procedure of local agencies), and 2 Pa.C.S. Chapter 7, Subchapter B (relating to judicial review of local agency action), also known as the "Local Agency Law" and the time limits of the Judicial Code.
The Board of Supervisors is hereby authorized to adopt such rules and regulations and prescribe forms for the implementation of this article.