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Southampton Town Councilman Tommy John Schiavoni, liaison to fire and ambulance districts, spearheaded a measure designed to enhance property tax exemptions for emergency service volunteers.
Fire and ambulance volunteers can benefit from a new initiative aimed at enhanced property tax exemptions. COURTESY SOUTHAMPTON FIRE DEPARTMENT
Southampton Town Councilman Tommy John Schiavoni sponsored a bill amending the Town Code to reduce the minimum service requirement for volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers, making them eligible for property tax exemptions.
In an effort to attract volunteers, New York State — and Southampton Town — allow a 10 percent property tax exemption for members of fire departments and ambulance corps.
The law previously carried a requirement of five years of service to qualify for the exemption, which is applied to assessed value of their primary residence. But in December, Governor Kathy Hochul signed a measure giving municipalities the option to reduce the requirement from five to two years of service, and last month, during their April 25 meeting, members of the Southampton Town Board passed legislation exercising the option.
The only caveat: The property eyed for exemption must be the volunteer’s primary residence and must be located in the district where he or she serves. If the property has another use in addition to use as a residence, the exemption applies just to the portion of the parcel used for living space.
A public hearing that night saw no speakers step up to debate the measure.
Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman did have an observation about the initiative spearheaded by Councilman Tommy John Schiavoni.
If a volunteer has a $10 million home, their exemption would be $1 million; if their home’s worth is $1 million, they’d get $100,000 taken off the assessment.
“That’s a little unfair,“ Schneiderman said, raising his brows at the notion of a person with a more expensive house getting a larger exemption.
“I would be happy to see people who have $10 million houses volunteer with the fire department. That would be a real appropriate thing to happen,” Schiavoni countered.
State law doesn’t parse the exemptions out; it’s 10 percent across the board, he explained.
Still, somebody who lives in a higher tax district, like Hampton Bays, would get more, Councilwoman Cyndi McNamara pointed out.
The state law provides latitude, in terms of the amount of exemption each municipality can offer. Southampton is going for the maximum 10 percent.
“We decided to give the full 10 percent,” Schiavoni said. “We’re going for the maximum amount because it’s important.”
That’s a maximum reduction and minimum years of service.
State law could also allow the town to keep the prior five-year eligibility requirement, but town officials voted to reduce it to two years.
The councilman pointed out that in most departments, firefighters go through a two-year probationary period during which they have to complete their training to become full-fledged members of the service.
“If you’re fighting fires, you should get the reduction,” he said, articulating the theory behind the change.
“I’d like everyone to consider joining your fire department or ambulance corps,” the councilman continued. “In addition to what we offer here, you also get a free beach sticker. You also get tuition reimbursement if you go to a SUNY school or one of our community colleges. It’s just the right thing to do.”
“These are challenging times, and it is important to recognize the extraordinary work that is done by our neighbors who serve the greater community as first responders,“ Schiavoni said in a release heralding the measure this week. “Our fire and ambulance volunteers regularly answer the call to help the rest of us. This legislation helps our volunteers to serve others.”
