Bill > S485

This bill allows cities, towns, or districts to offer a local option real estate tax exemption to individuals who serve as volunteer, call, or auxiliary firefighters or emergency medical technicians. This means that if a local government accepts this provision, they can choose to reduce the property tax bill for these volunteers by up to $2,500 per year, in addition to any other tax breaks they might already receive. The local government will be responsible for keeping records of these tax reductions and providing them to both the tax assessor and the volunteer before the tax bill is issued. Importantly, this tax reduction will not be considered income for tax purposes, nor will it affect workers' compensation or unemployment insurance benefits, although these volunteers will be considered public employees for liability purposes.