Riverhead board proposes cutting service requirement for first-responder tax break to two years

Councilman Ken Rothwell proposed reducing Riverhead’s local-option property-tax exemption for volunteer firefighters and ambulance crew members from five years of service to two, saying the shorter requirement would help recruit and retain volunteers. “I think with my recommendation go to two years,” Rothwell said as he introduced the item.

The change under discussion would make volunteers who have completed at least two years of service eligible for a 10% property-tax reduction, according to explanations from town staff and volunteer representatives. Timothy Murphy, a commissioner with the Riverhead Fire District, said the town’s volunteers shoulder frequent, time-consuming responses and that lowering the eligibility period would make a meaningful difference to younger recruits. “Anything we can do to reduce the tax liability on them is a benefit to us,” Murphy said.

Why it matters: Riverhead relies heavily on volunteer fire and ambulance services, officials said, and leaders argued that a modest local tax incentive could reduce turnover and encourage newer members to stay. Speakers emphasized the training and time commitment required to serve: department representatives described initial firefighter training (firefighter I) as a college-level course of roughly 110–150 hours followed by department-specific training, and said it typically takes about a year of initial training plus ongoing certification to become fully operational.

Administration and next steps: Town staff and the assessor explained the procedural steps required to make the change official. A fire district must submit a supplemental eligibility list to the assessor; volunteers must file the local application (form 466-a) and the town must adopt an amended local law after a noticed public hearing. Town officials said they intended to introduce a resolution at the board’s next meeting to schedule a public hearing (target: the first meeting in February) and, if adopted, file the amended local law with the state before the March 1 deadline so the exemption could apply to the next tax year.

Eligibility limits and safeguards: Town staff clarified that local points systems (LOAP) and minimum participation standards remain in place; volunteers removed for inactivity can lose eligibility. The board also discussed jurisdictional limits: the exemption applies to residents who serve the town’s qualifying fire or ambulance districts and does not automatically apply to people serving in unrelated or outside jurisdictions.

Budget and cost questions: Officials acknowledged that exact cost estimates for the exemption depend on participation levels and were not specified at the session. Commissioners and chiefs said districts often pay for recruit training (uniforms, bunker gear, course tuition) and that return-on-investment in volunteer readiness is difficult to quantify in dollars but significant in avoided emergency-response costs.

What happens next: Board members agreed to place a resolution on the next town board agenda to set a public hearing and move the local-law process forward. The board encouraged fire districts to submit their supplemental lists and urged residents interested in volunteering to contact district offices.