Village Holds Hearing on Tax Exemptions for Senior Citizens and Volunteer Firefighters/EMS
Two proposed laws will decrease the amount of property taxes paid by some seniors and volunteer firefighters/EMS workers
by Janine Annett
The Village of Hastings-on-Hudson held a public hearing on March 5th to hear comments on two proposed laws on tax exemptions, one for senior citizens with limited incomes and one for volunteer firefighters/EMS workers who live in Hastings. These exemptions will decrease the amount of property taxes paid by some local seniors with limited incomes, and those who serve the community by volunteering as firefighters and EMS (emergency medical services) workers.
Following input from the public, the Village has decided to make a change to the proposed exemption for seniors and is planning to follow New York State’s lead in not including income from individual retirement accounts (IRAs) when determining eligibility for the tax reduction.
The exemption for senior citizens was made possible by a New York State law that revised the Real Property Tax Exemption for Senior Citizens with Limited Incomes. The law can reduce the taxable assessment of the senior's home for those 65 and older who meet certain income limitations and other requirements. Local qualifying seniors with income below $55,700 may be eligible for a 20% exemption, seniors with income below $57,500 may be eligible for a 10% exemption, and seniors with income below $58,400 may be eligible for a 5% exemption.
The proposed local law would allow medical expenses to be deducted from income to determine eligibility and would include social security income for purposes of determining eligibility. Now, the local law will not consider distributions from an IRA as income (which is in line with the state law, which does not count IRA funds as income).
Initially, the local law proposed including IRA income when determining seniors’ eligibility. However, the Village has now decided to exclude IRA distributions when determining local seniors’ eligibility for tax reduction after hearing comments on the matter at the public hearing.
“We agreed to NOT include IRA income for the purposes of determining eligibility for the reduction of property taxes for seniors,” Hastings-on-Hudson Mayor Nicola Armacost told the Rivertowns Current. “We all felt that the comments made by Polly Bijur, Chair of the [Senior Citizen Advisory] Committee and Joyce DeVilbiss, who is a member, were elegant and persuasive. All Board members understand that the choice to do this may mean that some residents who are slightly wealthier due to IRA distributions may get access to the exemption, but we believe it is unlikely to be very many people.”
At the March 5th hearing, the Village heard from several senior citizens who disagreed with the proposed local law that considers income from IRAs in determining eligibility for the property tax exemption. Joyce DeVilbiss said, “I am pleased the local law will allow medical expenses to be deducted from income. However, I disagree with the portion of the proposal that would consider funds received from an IRA as income. As I understand, currently, NY State Law does not count funds received from an IRA as income when it comes to taxing senior citizens with limited incomes. But the Village of Hastings on Hudson wants to make it more difficult than the State standard for Seniors with low incomes to pay taxes by including funds received from IRAs as income. When seniors with limited incomes are no longer able to afford the property taxes on their homes, where do they move to? Where is the affordable housing for seniors with limited incomes? I urge you to help senior homeowners with limited incomes by exempting the IRAs as income.”
Hastings-on-Hudson also has the option to provide a property tax exemption of up to 10% to volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers. This exemption was made possible by a New York State law as well. To qualify for the exemption, firefighters and EMS workers must serve two to five years, and this length of time can be determined by individual municipalities.
Under the Village’s existing law, a firefighter/ambulance worker is eligible for a 10% exemption after 5 years of service. New York State is now allowing municipalities to make their own decisions about offering this exemption. Under the new proposed local law, a firefighter/ambulance worker will be eligible for the exemption after 2 years of active service. The proposed law would also allow for a lifetime exemption to volunteers with at least 20 years of service if they maintain their primary residence in Westchester County; allow un-remarried surviving spouses of volunteers with a lifetime exemption to retain the exemption; and allow surviving un-remarried spouses of volunteers with at least 5 years of service who died in the line of duty to retain the exemption.
Several residents spoke out in favor of the new benefits to fire and EMS volunteers, including Fire Chief Brian Schnibbe, who spoke strongly in favor of the 10% tax exemption after two years of service. He pointed out that the additional tax burden would be minimal compared to the Village funding a fully paid fire department, as detailed in a 2023 report from the Firefighters Association of New York. “If local governments had to switch to a fully paid fire service, property taxes would rise on average across the state by 28%. We don't utilize the tax exemption as a main recruitment tool. However, it is nice when members learn that after the rigorous training for fire or EMS there is a small benefit. In fact, any benefit my members see is met with much appreciation,” said Schnibbe.