ERIE COUNTY, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Erie County Legislature unanimously passed a law Thursday that will provide property tax exemptions for county volunteer first responders.
The new law will exempt up to 10% of the assessed value of each first responder's primary residence. In order to qualify, the first responder must have served a minimum of two years.
"We first introduced this law in January," county legislature Minority Leader John Mills said. "I appreciated the input we received and I'm pleased it has the support of the full legislature. Our volunteers deserve to have some relief."
Volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers are also eligible if they live in the community that is served by the district. The only exemption is for a residential property that is in the volunteer's primary district where they serve.
Any responder with 20 years of service or more will receive a lifetime exemption benefit. Spouses of deceased first responders will also receive the lifetime exemption benefit as well.
