[Adopted 9-9-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-01]
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.
APPLICATION FOR CERTIFICATION
The form completed by a volunteer and submitted to the Fire Chief or the president of the ambulance agency for signature certifying eligibility according to the volunteer service credit program criteria.
CERTIFIED VOLUNTEER
A volunteer with the volunteer fire company or volunteer ambulance agency listed under § 165-29C who has complied with and is certified under the volunteer service credit program.
EARNED INCOME TAX
A tax on earned income and net profits levied under Chapter 3 of the Act of December 31, 1965 (P.L. 1257, No. 511), known as the "Local Tax Enabling Act."[1]
ELIGIBILITY LIST
The document provided by the Fire Chief or ambulance president that contains the names of those volunteers who he/she certifies as eligible according to the volunteer service credit program criteria.
ELIGIBILITY PERIOD
The timeframe when volunteers may earn credit under the volunteer service credit program.
EMERGENCY RESPONSE CALL
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.
QUALIFIED REAL PROPERTY
A residential real property owned, owned jointly or in common with another, or in the form of a trust or partnership in which the volunteer has an interest, and occupied as the domicile of a volunteer.
REQUEST FOR CREDIT
The form completed by a certified volunteer and submitted to the Municipal Treasurer, requesting earned income tax and/or real property tax credit.
VOLUNTEER
A member of a volunteer fire company or ambulance agency.
[1]
See 53 P.S. § 6924.101 et seq.
A. 
Establishment. Elizabeth Township hereby establishes a volunteer service credit program. The goal of the program is to encourage membership and service in the community's volunteer fire companies and/or ambulance agencies.
B. 
Program criteria. The Board shall establish, by resolution, the annual criteria that must be met to qualify for credits under the program based on the following:
(1) 
The number of emergency response calls to which a volunteer responds to or duty crews he/she has been committed to.
(2) 
The total amount of time served by a volunteer on administrative and other support services, including but not limited to:
(a) 
Fund-raising.
(b) 
Providing facility or equipment maintenance.
(c) 
Financial bookkeeping or fund-raising.
(d) 
Fire prevention and public education.
(e) 
Other events or projects that aid the financial viability, emergency response or operational readiness of a volunteer fire company.
C. 
Eligible entities. The volunteer service credit program is available to residents of Elizabeth Township who are volunteers of the following volunteer fire companies and ambulance agencies that provide service to Elizabeth Township:
(1) 
Brickerville Fire Company.
(2) 
Brunnerville Fire Company.
(3) 
Penryn Fire Company.
(4) 
Lititz Fire Company No. 1.
(5) 
Northwest EMS.
(6) 
Warwick Community Ambulance Association.
D. 
Eligibility period. A volunteer must meet the minimum criteria, set by resolution under this section, during the eligibility period to qualify for the tax credits established under § 165-30. For 2018, and each subsequent year thereafter, the eligibility period shall run from January 1 through December 31.
E. 
Injured volunteers.
(1) 
A volunteer who is injured during an emergency response call may be eligible for future tax credits. The injury must have occurred while responding to, participating in, or returning from an emergency response call with one of the entities listed under § 165-29C.
(2) 
An injured volunteer shall provide documentation from a licensed physician with the application required under § 165-29 stating that their injury prevents them from performing duties to qualify as a certified volunteer. In such a case, the injured volunteer shall be deemed a certified volunteer for that tax year.
(3) 
An injured volunteer shall annually submit the application required under § 165-29, along with updated documentation from a licensed physician stating that the injury still exists and prevents them from qualifying as a certified volunteer. The injured volunteer shall again be deemed a certified volunteer for that tax year. An injured volunteer shall only be deemed a certified volunteer for a maximum of five consecutive tax years.
F. 
Recordkeeping/eligibility list. The fire chief of each volunteer fire company and president of each ambulance agency listed under § 165-29C 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 Board of Supervisors, the State Fire Commissioner and the State Auditor General. The fire chief and president shall annually transmit to the Township an eligibility list of all volunteers that have met the minimum criteria for the volunteer service credit program. The eligibility list shall be transmitted to the Township no later than January 30 of each year. The fire chief or president shall post the eligibility list in an accessible area of the volunteer agency's facilities.
G. 
Application. Volunteers that have met the minimum criteria of the volunteer service credit program shall sign and submit an application for certification to their fire chief or president. The fire chief shall sign the application if the volunteer has met the minimum criteria of the volunteer service credit program. Certified volunteers wishing to receive an earned income tax credit for the previous year shall complete and submit a request for tax credit, including all required documentation, to the Township Treasurer between January 1 and April 30. Requests shall not be accepted by the Township after April 30 of each year.
H. 
Municipal review. The Township Treasurer shall review the requests for credit under the volunteer service credit program and shall cross-reference them with the eligibility list. The Board of Supervisors shall acknowledge receipt of the eligibility list as submitted by the fire company or ambulance agency.
Each certified volunteer shall be eligible to receive a tax credit of their paid earned income tax levied by the Township. The tax credit, payable to the volunteer, has been established to be $200. The tax credit applies only to the portion of the earned income tax ultimately payable to Elizabeth Township.
A. 
Claim. A certified volunteer may submit a request for credit of their Township earned income tax liability. The tax credit shall be administered as a refund by the Township Treasurer, to be distributed by June 14. A certified volunteer shall file the following with the Township Treasurer:
(1) 
Completed and signed request for credit.
(2) 
Copies of all W-2 forms (or quarterly vouchers with canceled checks if self-employed).
B. 
Rejection of tax credit claim.
(1) 
The Township Treasurer shall reject a claim for a tax credit if the taxpayer is not on the eligibility list or fails to provide the documents required under Subsection A.
(2) 
If the Township Treasurer rejects the claim, the taxpayer shall be notified in writing of the decision. The notice shall include the reasons for the rejection and provide the method of appealing the decision pursuant to § 165-31.
(3) 
Taxpayers shall have 30 days to appeal the decision of the Township Treasurer.
A. 
Earned income tax credit appeals.
(1) 
Any taxpayer aggrieved by a decision under § 165-30 shall have a right to appeal said decision to the Township Manager.
(2) 
A taxpayer shall have 30 days from the date set forth on the notice of decision to appeal a decision or rejection of claim.
(3) 
All appeals of decisions under § 165-30 shall follow the provisions of the Act of May 5, 1998, P.L. 301, No. 50, known as the "Local Taxpayers Bill of Rights."[1]
[1]
See 53 Pa.C.S.A. § 8421 et seq.
In the event that any provision, section, sentence, clause, or part of this article is held to be invalid, such invalidity shall not affect or impair any remaining provision, section, sentence, clause or part of the article, it being the intent of the Elizabeth Township Board of Supervisors that such remainder shall be and shall remain in full force and effect and for this purpose the provisions of this article are hereby declared to be severable.
This article shall be effective five days after adoption.
The Board of Supervisors may, via motion, move to allow retroactive qualification and payout for the previous year, January 1 through December 31, 2018, based on all criterion being met.