A legislator who’s been a volunteer fire fighter for 33 years is sponsoring legislation that could lead to a $500 property tax credit for first responders who are volunteers. Senator Adrian Dickey of Packwood says the idea came after new fire alarms were installed in a local school, prompting several false calls to the local fire department.
The proposed property tax credits would be voluntary, not mandatory — giving each county, city and school district authority to decide whether to extend the credit to volunteer fire departments and ambulance services. Dickey says the bill, as written, would let each fire chief set some standards volunteer fire fighters would need to satisfy to qualify for the credit.
The bill cleared a senate subcommittee on Monday. Dickey first introduced this concept a few years ago. His call to double the state income tax credit for volunteer fire fighters has failed to become law and Dickey proposed a reduced vehicle license fee for volunteer fire fighters but that stalled as well.
