Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tax Exemption topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Greenberg delays vote on volunteer firefighter tax exemption to give assessor and attorneys time to clarify eligibility and cost
Summary
The town held a continued hearing on a local law to align volunteer firefighter/ambulance tax exemptions with recent state changes; the board held the record open and moved the hearing to March 12 after residents raised questions about documentation, eligibility and who would bear the fiscal impact.
The Greenberg Town Board held a continued public hearing on a proposed amendment to Chapter 440 that would update the town’s tax‑exemption rules for volunteer firefighters and ambulance members to reflect recent changes in state law, and adjourned the hearing to the March 12 meeting to allow the assessor and town attorney to provide clarifications.
A representative reading for the assessor explained the draft would require an eligible volunteer to have served at least two years and to have responded to an average of at least 10% of service calls over the previous two years. The reading also said the draft allows volunteers who serve with neighboring municipalities to qualify in some circumstances.
Public commenters and board members pressed for details on how the 10% response threshold would be documented and whether the town or the villages (which also can adopt the exemption) would absorb costs. “If you remove tax revenue you have to make it up,” a resident said, urging the board to clarify which taxpayers would bear the reduction. Hal Sammis raised objections about transparency around outside legal spend and asked whether the board should recuse members living in affected fire districts; the supervisor said he would investigate recusal questions before the next hearing.
Several members also said a uniform application form should be explicit in the law so evidence of certification and response rates does not vary across districts. The assessor said an application form in the assessor’s office would document required information but acknowledged that the draft law does not currently contain the form language.
After discussion, the board voted to continue the hearing to the March 12 meeting (the first meeting in March) to allow staff to produce clearer documentation standards and legal advice before the taxable‑status deadline.
Next steps: the hearing is continued to March 12; the assessor and town attorney will be asked to provide a form and additional legal and fiscal analysis before the board considers final adoption.
