ZELIENOPLE — The borough is joining other county municipalities offering tax cuts to fire and emergency volunteers.

Zelienople council voted to offer an earned income tax credit of up to $250 to eligible volunteers with the Harmony Fire District, which serves Zelienople and Harmony, along with Jackson and Lancaster townships.

To be eligible for the credit, a volunteer must attend at least three district meetings per year, three training sessions per year and have completed the basic requirements for their classification. One must also be a member of good standing and achieve a minimum of 50 hours of service.

“It’s long overdue,” said Allen Bayer, council president, after the vote.

Zelienople is the first of the municipalities covered by the department to offer the credit. The others will be considering similar motions in February.

“The goal was to have each municipality in the fire district to pass the same ordinance so there’s no differences,” said Don Pepe, Zelienople manager. “We didn’t want them to have four different criteria and four different ordinances.”

Chris Rearick, Jackson Township manager, said the community is willing to offer the same credit.

“That way it’ll be consistent across municipalities,” said Rearick. “We expect to pass it in March.”

Harmony officials also have signaled in previous meetings that the borough would follow Zelienople’s lead, and Lancaster Township supervisors will be weighing the issue as well.

Cranberry Township was the first in the county to offer tax credits after Gov. Tom Wolf signed Act 172 into law in fall 2016. The act allows municipalities to offer real estate or earned income tax credit to active members of volunteer fire companies and nonprofit emergency medical service agencies.