EMS Council Chair Larry Barter addresses Chautauqua County Legislature (April 26, 2023)
A local law that gives volunteer firefighters and volunteer ambulance workers a break on property taxes has been approved by the Chautauqua County Legislature.
The local law provides a 10% exemption on real property taxes for volunteers who have been in the service for at least two years. For volunteers who are active and have 20 years of service, it provides a lifetime 10% exemption. A second local law approved allows the spouses of volunteers killed in the line of duty to retain that tax exemption as long as they don’t remarry.
Legislator Terry Niebel, one of the sponsors of the bill, spoke in support of the local law, “Without their services, we could easily be spending millions of dollars. Like most counties in New York State, Chautauqua County is experiencing a serious shortage of volunteers. With the two local laws on the agenda this evening, we’re offering the best benefit package allowed by the state.”
Niebel also urged other taxing districts in the county to consider offering the exemption.
The legislature also approved using $50,000 in American Rescue Plan funds toward a market study for the Jamestown Airport. The Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency had approved $25,000 in funding toward the $75,000 project in January.
County Executive PJ Wendel said the study is a necessary part of the Essential Air Service (EAS) application to the U.S. Department of Transportation. He said EAS provides subsidies to airlines to reduce the ticket prices, thus making it more affordable for flyers, “Once this (study) comes back, we are ready if we need to pivot and focus from a commercial airport to a general aviation airport. Shannon (Barnhart) has the tools and the skills. We’ve already got some plans and things we’ve talked about in chatter on what we can do as far as increasing smaller what they call T-hangers, increasing the operability of the airport.”
Wendel said with the Legislature’s approval the county will now do a request for proposals (RFP) to contract with someone for the study.
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