ALBANY – Any volunteer fire department and ambulance corps around the state is faced with the same problem – the difficulty in attracting new members.
Assemblywoman Didi Barrett (D, Hudson) has introduced legislation to provide members with more of a financial incentive than they have now.
“We have so much of a challenge trying to both recruit and retain these volunteer fire and ambulance workers, so this is really important to be able to give as much incentive as possible,” she said.
Barrett’s measure would allow the emergency services volunteers to claim both state income and local property tax credits. At present, they may claim only one or the other.
The lawmaker’s bill is part of a package of six as part of the New York State Association of Counties’ Rescuing EMS campaign.
Other bills would deem EMS to be an essential service; remove EMS services from the property tax cap; authorize EMS providers to be reimbursed for treating patients without transporting them to a hospital; increase the Volunteer Firefighters’ and Ambulance Workers’ Tax Credit from $200 to $800, and increase Medicaid reimbursement rates for EMS providers.
