[Adopted 2-12-2001]
The statutory authority for this article is
PA 99-272.
To encourage and increase volunteer participation
in the fire and emergency medical services, there is hereby established
a program to abate the real and/or personal property taxes due for
any fiscal year in an amount not to exceed $1,000 for a resident of
the Town of Wilton who volunteers his or her services as a firefighter,
emergency medical technician, paramedic or ambulance driver in the
Town. The amount of the abatement shall correlate to each volunteer's
level of participation in the calls, training and other activities
of the organization, exclusive of events and activities that are purely
or primarily social or recreational in nature.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The Town of Wilton Fire Department, the Wilton Volunteer
Ambulance Corps, and the Georgetown Fire District.
A systematic, internally consistent method used by each organization
to numerically quantify the extent of each volunteer's participation
in the organization's nonsocial and nonrecreational activities.
The Chief of the Wilton Fire Department, the President of
the Wilton Volunteer Ambulance Corps, or the President of the Georgetown
Volunteer Fire District.
A resident of the Town of Wilton who, without compensation
or for de minimis compensation, serves as a firefighter, emergency
medical technician, paramedic or ambulance driver for the Town of
Wilton Fire Department, the Wilton Volunteer Ambulance Corporation,
or the Georgetown Fire District. Volunteer shall not include a person
who provides and is compensated for said services in a manner or amount
that makes the person an employee of the Town of Wilton, the Wilton
Volunteer Ambulance Corps or the Georgetown Fire District under applicable
federal or state laws or regulations.
A full calendar year of availability to serve as a volunteer.
Inability to volunteer because of military service with the United
States or because of injury or illness sustained in the course of
providing volunteer service shall not constitute interruptions of
service.
To be eligible for the abatement, the volunteer
must have at least one year of service as of any December 31. In no
event shall participation in more than one organization entitle a
volunteer to an abatement of more than $1,000.
A.
Abatements for the fiscal year of enactment.
(1)
No later than 30 days after the enactment hereof,
each organization shall submit to the Board of Selectmen for review
and approval a proposed plan to quantify the extent of each volunteer's
service and assign it to one of four levels of participation as follows:
|
Level of Participation
|
Abatement Amount
|
|---|---|
|
A
|
$1,000
|
|
B
|
$750
|
|
C
|
$500
|
|
D
|
$250
|
|
E
|
$0
|
(2)
The Board may disapprove of or make any changes in
said plans it deems necessary or appropriate to achieve the purposes
of this article. If approved by the Board of Selectmen, the plans
shall, without further modifications, govern all abatements of fiscal
2001, and of subsequent fiscal years unless changed as hereinafter
provided. Each plan shall be accompanied by a list, signed by the
presiding officer, showing each volunteer's name, residence address,
and the calculation of the participation level for the calendar year
ended December 31, 1999.
B.
Abatements for fiscal years subsequent to enactment.
No later than January 31 of each year, each organization shall submit
to the Tax Collector a list signed by the presiding officer showing
each volunteer's name, residence address, and the calculation of the
participation level for the immediately preceding calendar year. The
Tax Collector shall ascertain if an eligible volunteer is delinquent
on taxes or any other financial obligation to the Town. If any delinquency
exists, the Tax Collector shall notify the volunteer in writing on
or before April 1 that the credit cannot be granted until all such
delinquencies are paid or otherwise resolved to the Town's satisfaction
on or before May 31. No abatement granted under this article shall
be used to satisfy any such obligation to the Town.
Any proposed changes to approved participation level plans, together with adequate documentation and explanations, must be submitted to the Board of Selectmen by December 31. If approved, the changes shall apply prospectively to fiscal years commencing after approval. No changes to an approved plan may be made subsequent to submission of the annual budget to the Board of Finance, as prescribed by § C-31B(1) of the Charter.
The Tax Collector shall apply an abatement in
the following order of priority: real estate, motor vehicle, personal
property and shall be applied 50% to each installment of taxes as
applicable. No abatement shall exceed the taxes due for a fiscal year.
A credit balance resulting from the application of an abatement shall
be treated as an overpayment by the Tax Collector.
When a property has more than one owner, the
amount of the abatement applied cannot exceed the volunteer's proportionate
share of the taxes due.
Any unused abatement or portion thereof shall
expire at the end of the fiscal year for which it is granted.
This article shall be effective December 18,
2000.
