CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. (NEWS10) — A judge ruled in favor of some Clifton Park volunteer firefighters who are seeking property tax exemptions. A group of firefighters sued the town assessor in July and claimed he unfairly blocked them from receiving tax exemptions. The assessor said he made the decision based on state law, which states firefighters must live and work in the community to qualify.

The firefighters pointed to town code, which said volunteers only need to serve the town to be eligible.

“There’s really no bad blood,” former Clifton Park fire chief Art Hunsinger said. “He was wrong. He didn’t want to correct it, so we had to take action. We didn’t want to take action, but we had to take action.”

A state law that took effect at the end of 2022 allows local communities to offer tax exemptions to volunteer firefighters and first responders as a way of addressing staff shortages.