Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz was joined today by elected officials, firefighters and emergency personnel at the Lancaster Fire Department on Broadway in the Village of Lancaster as he signed into law Erie County Local Law Intro. No. 1-2 (2023), “Providing For 10% Property Tax Exemptions for Volunteer Firefighters and Ambulance Workers in Erie County.” Erie County has ninety-four volunteer fire departments and five emergency squads, comprised of more than five thousand members. The new Local Law opts Erie County into a NYS law that allows municipalities to grant a real property tax exemption of up to 10% of the assessed value of qualifying residential real property owned by a volunteer firefighter or ambulance worker in the district in which they volunteer.

“Volunteer firefighters and ambulance drivers put their lives on the line to serve our community, answering the call for help whenever it comes and selflessly setting aside their own lives to assist others. With this local law we are giving back to them and thanking them, as a community,” said Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz. “I thank the Legislature for their unanimous support of this measure and, on behalf of everyone in Erie County, I thank our volunteer firefighters and ambulance drivers for their service.”

The new local law also extends this benefit to un-remarried spouses of volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers in instances where the volunteer dies after accruing twenty years of service or for those who die in the line of duty. The law will take effect in the next full tax year.

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