Crawford Central School District passes the Volunteer Firefighter and EMS tax relief incentive
According to the Pennsylvania Fire Commission, Pennsylvania is the birthplace of the volunteer fire service in North America and has the largest number of fire departments in the nation (2,400). There were over 300,000 active volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel in the 1980s. Today there are fewer than 30,000 active members in the state to support these departments.
The Crawford Central School District (CCSD) is protected by four volunteer fire departments (VFD): Cochranton VFD, Vernon Central VFD, West Mead Township #1 VFD and West Mead Township #2 VFD; and one career fire department, Meadville Firefighters Local 515, which also provides a paid BLS/ALS ambulance service along with Meadville Ambulance Service. All of the volunteer fire departments run a QRS service that provides emergency medical services (EMS) along with providing fire safety education to our facilities, students and staff.
Act 172 was put into place to help recruit and retail volunteers to the fire and EMS service in Pennsylvania. Act 172 of 2016 (35 Pa. C.S.A. §79A01, et seq.) authorizes Pennsylvania governing bodies, including school districts, to offer a real estate tax credit and/or an earned income tax credit to active members of volunteer fire companies and nonprofit emergency medical service agencies through a volunteer service credit program; and WHEREAS, 35 Pa. C.S.A. §79A13 authorizes governing bodies to provide, by ordinance or resolution, for a tax credit to active volunteers of up to 100% of the tax liability imposed on residential real property owned and occupied by such volunteers.
After Crawford County and a few local boroughs and townships passed a resolution to adopt a tax relief incentive, the board was approached by a board member to investigate adopting a similar resolution. The Crawford County Commissioners were invited to a board work session on October 20, 2025, to present their plan and requirements that provide county tax relief of up to 100% or $500.00, whichever is the lesser amount.
The eligibility requirements for Crawford County are as follows:
(B) Eligibility Requirements. To qualify as an Active Volunteer under the District’s Volunteer Service Credit
Program, eligible persons must:
(i) Be a member in good standing of a volunteer fire company or a Nonprofit Emergency Medical Services
(“EMS”) Agency located in Crawford County
(ii) Be a resident of Crawford County
(iii) Meet one of the following activity requirements:
a. Accumulate ninety-six (96) total hours of service annually for a Volunteer Fire Company or Nonprofit EMS
Agency engaged in the following activities:
1. Responding to Emergency Response Calls (48 annual hours minimum);
2. Attending scheduled business meetings (24annual hours maximum);
3. Attending training, drills, and other educational activities as required;
4. Raising funds to support the organization.
Once this was presented to the school board, the board, administration and solicitor went to work and adopted all of Crawford County’s eligibility requirements, with a few modifications, since our district covers part of Mercer County. The Crawford Central School Board recognized that there should also be a goal to achieve recognition after many years of volunteering and dedicating their lives to protecting the community. This is why we chose to add section (b) to our resolution:
b. Having attained the age of sixty-five years, meet all of the following requirements:
1. Have accumulated twenty years of service for any Volunteer Fire Company or Nonprofit EMS Agency.
2. Be recognized as a Life Member of a Volunteer Fire Company or Nonprofit EMS Agency.
3. Accumulate twenty (20) total hours of service annually for a Volunteer Fire Company or Nonprofit EMS Agency engaged in any combination of the following activities:
(i) Responding to Emergency Response Calls;
(ii) Attending scheduled business meetings;
(iii) Attending or assisting with trainings, drills, and other educational activities;
(iv) Raising funds to support the organization.
It is a great honor to be able to support our volunteer fire and EMS personnel, who give up their time with their families, to protect our students, employees and families, to be able to pass the following.
On November 24, 2025, the Board of Directors of the Crawford Central School District who worked with the CCSD administration and solicitor, with a vote of 8 yea and 1 abstention, approved The Volunteer Service Tax Credit Program resolution.
The Crawford Central School District approved that the volunteers would receive a refund of $500.00 or 100% (whichever is less) of the volunteer’s school property tax (liability for the tax year following which they met the eligibility) requirements upon verification of payment of the school property tax liability for said year. With the county, school board and local boroughs/townships approving these resolutions, the firefighters/EMS personnel who own real property could potentially see a tax rebate of up to $1,500.00/per tax year.
The full resolution can be viewed on the Crawford Central School District’s website.