Brentwood board holds hearing on extending property tax exemption for volunteer firefighters and EMS ahead of Feb. 13 vote

Stacy Acano, a staff member, told the Brentwood Union Free School District Board of Education at a Jan. 23 hearing that the town has the option under state real property tax law to extend a currently expiring volunteer firefighter and ambulance/EMS worker assessment adjustment from volunteers with five or more years of service to include those with two to four years.

The hearing is informational only; the board will consider a resolution at its Feb. 13 regular meeting. "This is important information that the board wanted to share with the community. It's nothing that we're acting on tonight," Acano said.

Under the current measure described at the hearing, the town has opted into a provision of the Real Property Tax Law that provides a 10% assessment adjustment to primary residences of volunteers who have served five years or longer; volunteers with more than 20 years of service receive a lifetime exemption. Acano said the exemption also extends to unmarried spouses of deceased volunteers who qualified at the time of death. Residency in Brentwood and volunteer service within Brentwood are conditions for the exemption.

Acano told the board that 60 properties in the community currently receive the 10% adjustment at the five-year threshold. She said the district's tax levy is set by the town and that, as structured, the change would not alter the school district's levy; instead it would slightly shift property-tax burden among other taxpayers in the town. "So it shifts the burden from those who are getting the exemption to those who are not getting the exemption, but in a very minimal way," she said.

Town staff could not provide a firm cost estimate for expanding the exemption to volunteers with two to four years of service. Acano said the town assessor did not expect a large difference because volunteers in the two- to four-year range are more likely to be younger and not homeowners, but she warned that the cost could not be determined from available records.

Board members asked procedural and practical questions during the hearing. A board member asked whether any firefighters or ambulance workers were present and thanked them for their service; the board invited community questions but did not take action. The board will vote on a resolution regarding the exemption at its Feb. 13 regular meeting.

The meeting opened the public hearing by motion and closed it by a second, recorded below.