Arnold Council to consider extending tax relief for city's volunteer firefighters

A vote granting volunteer firefighters limited tax relief may be on Arnold Council’s agenda in October.

Council held a public hearing last week on a proposed ordinance that would allowed the city’s firefighters and EMS personnel to claim an earned income tax or a real estate tax credit each year.

Pennsylvania municipalities were given the authority to grant the tax credits in 2016.

The measure is intended to both reward the volunteers for their service to the city and to help attract new members to a fire company that needs more manpower.

Arnold’s ordinance would provide a credit of up to $500. Firefighters and EMS personnel must be residents of the city or own property in the city to qualify for it.

Councilman George Hawdon said “the vast majority” of people who are eligible would be better off taking the earned income tax credit but noted it is each person’s choice. Judging from the list of firefighters and EMS personnel he saw, Hawdon said there are only two whose taxes were more than $500.

Firefighter Chris O’Leath said Arnold No. 2 Fire Company would prefer council to offer both types of credit because it could widen the appeal for potential recruits.

“I will not benefit from that program either way,” he said. O’Leath lives in New Kensington.

Fire officials are hoping other municipalities will adopt similar reciprocal ordinances because so many firefighters live outside the communities they serve. They believe that doing that would further enhance the appeal of volunteering throughout the state.

“We want to be able to offer as much as we can to entice more people to join us,” said Eric Gartley, fire chief of Arnold No. 2.

He said if the ordinance would fail, it would not impact the fire company’s operations.

None of the 25 or so residents at the hearing voiced objections and only a few questioned how it would work.

One resident asked how eligibility for the credit would be determined.

“What the metrics we apply to it are is the number of calls they respond to, the amount of training they receive and participation in (fire company) work details,” said Hawdon, who has argued in favor of granting the relief.