Saugerties approves tax exemption for volunteer firefighters

Village and town approval have approved tax exemptions that will reduce the assessment of properties owned by volunteer firefighters.

During a recent Town Board meeting, Supervisor Fred Costello said that the 10% reduction is a small price to pay for a service that saves lives.

“We work closely with them, especially in times of emergency, and they certainly earned this benefit,” Costello said. “It helps our residents stay safe and it saves us a lot of money versus if we had to pay for the services. It’s a modest savings for eligible members who participate.”

Under the law, volunteers will need five years of service to claim the exemption, which can become permanent after 20 years.

Costello noted that firefighters already have income-based eligibility for income tax exemptions and won’t be able to use that and the property tax assessment reduction during the same year.

“The (assessment reduction) may not be the right choice for everyone,” he said. “They need to spend a little bit of time to figure out which one is more beneficial to their circumstances.”

Assessor Frank Orlando said the firefighters’ property exemption can be combined with either the senior citizen’s exemption or the disability exemption.

Costello said the approval had been delayed for the town while officials sought to have the exemption cover volunteers that are members of departments outside of the municipality.

“If I was a resident of Saugerties but a member of Kiskatom, the neighboring (Greene County) fire department, under the current legislation I’m not eli

gible to receive the benefit,” he said.

“We feel that is a little bit unfair because … there’s shared service between Kiskatom and the Saxton Fire Districts and the town of Saugerties benefits equally,” Costello said. “Service there should benefit but unfortunately the law does not allow us to count that, yet.”

Officials expect pressure will be put on state lawmakers to adjust the regulations.

“There’s still efforts at the state level … to try to expand eligibility,” Costello said. “We were able to incorporate the legacy component for the widows of fallen firefighters.”

Hudson Valley Volunteer Firemen’s Association Vice President Michael Karashay said there is a March 1 deadline for eligible firefighters to file for an exemption through the assessor’s office.