Kenai Peninsula mayor proposes raising volunteer firefighter and EMS tax break to $50,000

Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche has proposed raising the property tax exemption for the borough's volunteer firefighters and emergency medical responders to the first $50,000 of a home's assessed value, up from $10,000, after the Legislature lifted the state's $10,000 cap.

The ordinance would also limit the exemption to one per home. Today, two volunteers in the same household can each claim $10,000. Under the proposal, they would get a single $50,000 exemption, still more than the $20,000 they can claim now. The Assembly is scheduled to introduce the measure Oct. 20 and hold a public hearing Dec. 1.

At the borough's areawide rate of 3.85 mills, a $50,000 exemption would cut a volunteer's borough tax by $192.50 a year, up from $38.50. In January, Assembly member Dale Eicher wrote that counting service area taxes, the current exemption can result in "around $100 or even less" in annual savings.

The Assembly had asked to set the amount itself. On Jan. 20, it voted 9-0 for Eicher's resolution asking the Legislature to let municipalities decide, saying the $10,000 limit provided "minimal incentive to serving as a volunteer firefighter or paramedic." The Legislature removed the cap in House Bill 13, a bill first filed in January 2025, which became law without the governor's signature in June and took effect Sept. 20.

The new state law still allows up to two exemptions per home, a limit the Assembly's January resolution also included, and lets municipalities add volunteer hazardous materials responders. Micciche's ordinance limits the exemption to one per home and does not add hazmat responders. The memos accompanying it do not explain either choice.

To qualify, a volunteer must be current and active with a state-recognized first responder service, registered fire department or certified ambulance service in the borough.

The ordinance makes other tax changes. It would end the 8% interest the borough pays on refunds of taxes paid in error, following changes to state law in HB 13. It would also change the rules for property assessment appeals. Deputy Borough Attorney Walker Steinhage wrote that the first year of appeals under tax rules the borough rewrote in 2025 showed several things to improve. Appellants would have to state their own opinion of their property's value, incomplete forms would be rejected and evidence would be due 15 days before the originally scheduled hearing, even if the hearing moves.