Chestnuthill adopts Volunteer Service Credit Program

The board of supervisors of Chestnuthill have adopted an ordinance which establishes a tax credit for eligible members of the West End Fire Company. Volunteers must be township residents and members of the West End Fire Company to be eligible for the up to $500 credit on earned income tax.

Under the ordinance the fire company must account for each member’s participation in fire calls during the course of the year. A member must respond to 30 percent of the calls during the designated operational period to be eligible to receive the credit. The member must attend required trainings, drills, meetings and fundraisers and must remain active membership in the company during the preceding year.

During Tuesday evening’s meeting, Albert Blew asked if the township would consider extending the credit to residents who are active members of fire companies other than the West End Fire Company.

Blew is assistant chief of the Albrightsville Volunteer Fire Company, but lives in the Sierra View section of Chestnuthill Township.

“Help me to understand this better,” Supervisor Harry Miller asked, addressing West End Fire Chief Don Zipp. “Do these fire companies ever respond to the same fire, cross the same paths, say over the past two years? I just want to get some sense of how they might relate to better consider this for a future discussion.”

Zipp responded that all of the companies in the area interact at times.

“You have to understand,” Zipp said, “during the daytime, without mutual aid, you would be in big trouble.”

Miller said that he would consider addressing Blew’s request in the future if the other municipalities adopted similar ordinances and record keeping.

The supervisors adopted a resolution spelling out the requirements for earning the tax credit in greater detail.

The supervisors also adopted an ordinance related to nuisance fire alarms.

Zipp said the West End Fire Company responded to 123 false alarms in 2017.

“The number one response has been to false alarms, both homes and businesses,” Vice Chairman Chris Eckert said. “These are often systems that are not being properly maintained.”

The ordinance sets out the definition of a false alarm and at what point the violation would occur. The initial fine is a minimum of $100. Unpaid fines could result in a summary offense with fines up to $1,000.

The ordinance also sets out the many instances when the alarm may be tripped, but it does not constitute a false alarm, including burning food, power outages or standard testing of the system. The aim of the ordinance is to encourage homeowners and businesses to properly maintain their fire alarm systems.