Middletown Unveils Homebuyer Help, Property Tax Break For Volunteers
MIDDLETOWN, NJ — This Wednesday, Sept. 4, Middletown Mayor Tony Perry will publicly unveil a unique incentive program designed to increase volunteerism even more so in Middletown Township.
Middletown is already proud to have one of the largest volunteer fire departments in the nation, but the town can always use more volunteer firefighters and EMTs, said Perry.
He and members of the Middletown Township Committee will formally unveil the program at 10:30 a.m. this Wednesday in a press conference held in front of Navesink Hook & Ladder Fire Company (141 Jackson Street at Monmouth Avenue, in Atlantic Highlands).
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They will be joined by Middletown Fire Chiefs William Kane Jr., Anthony Fulciniti, Dan Kelly, Kevin Morrissey and Jacob Lawrence, EMS chiefs Brian McKittrick, Marco Fernandes and Floyd Goldstein, and the town’s OEM coordinator Charlie Rogers, as well as local volunteers.
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The first incentive is that Middletown Township will give first-time homebuyers a $10,000 loan (the home must be purchased in Middletown), said Perry. If the resident logs a certain number of volunteer hours or calls with fire/EMS, the loan will be forgiven over the course of several years.
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The second is a $500 yearly property tax deduction for volunteers. The third is parking fees at the Middletown train station will be waived for Township volunteers.
“It is not a ton, but if you can save $300 a year, why not?” said Perry of the parking fees. “We should be rewarding our residents who are protecting our community.”
“Middletown already has one of the largest volunteer fire departments in the world, and then we have EMS as well,” said Perry. “But New Jersey is a very expensive state to live in and property taxes are very high. We are always trying to think of ways to incentivize people to join either programs. These are the people who wake up in the middle of the night or leave their families in the middle of dinner because there’s a structure fire. The people who coordinate recovery when a storm hits. How do we further reward those people? And how do we attract new people? So, we decided to sit down and really explore what we could offer.”
Perry said he is not aware any other town in the state of NJ is offering such incentives to volunteers.
Middletown Township already waives construction permit fees for volunteer EMS and firefighters. Such permits can range from $100 to several thousand dollars.
Learn more Wednesday when this program is unveiled!
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