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12-13-2007 By JIM AUSTIN Editor The occupancy, or bed tax, is paid on lodging, primarily by visitors to the county. In 2007, the county has collected more than $500,000 in occupancy tax, according to Myrna Thayne, county treasurer and budget officer. Beginning next year, the county will be allowed to double the occupancy tax rate from 2 percent to 4 percent. Iversen and others on the county board have argued that Cooperstown, home to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, has absorbed costs associated with tourism and deserves county dollars. Iversen said the village spends about $40,000 a summer "just picking up the trash on Main Street." In 2005, the village estimated the annual cost of tourism to be $600,000, according to Mayor Carol Waller. Waller said this week "it is wonderful the county is finally agreeing to support tourism in the village. I think it is a good sign." Waller has been to the county board many times in the six years she has been mayor to ask for a larger share of sales or bed tax revenues to help the village cope with the cost of tourism. Waller said she doesn't know all the details, but believes she will have to present a proposal for spending additional funds that would have to be approved by the board. "I don't believe it is a done deal yet," she said. Trustee Jeff Katz, who has been researching the possibility of Cooperstown becoming a city in an effort to open up additional revenue sources, said he was encouraged. "I welcome any chance to work cooperatively with the county; anything that opens up a dialogue," he said. Iversen said she believes Cooperstown should be allotted 12.5 percent of the bed-tax collections every year. By setting the village's allotment at a percentage, rather than at a fixed amount, the county would be shielded if tourism were to fall off, she said. Rep. Keith McCarty, RSpringfield, said he was uncomfortable allotting money "unless we know how it's going to be spent." Rep. James Powers, R-Butternuts, noted that representatives from the Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce have approached the county board, looking for money to draw in more tourists, while village Mayor Carol Waller has asked the board to help pay for the cost of hosting tourists. Rep. Betty Anne Schwerd, R-Burlington, said that "if the Hall of Fame added 25 cents to the price of every ticket and gave that to the village of Cooperstown, that would go a long way to solving the problem." Rep. Stephen Fournier, RMilford, noted that the Cooperstown Dreams Park, located in Hartwick, also costs money to support, although Hartwick does not receive bedtax grants. A majority of the board opted to help Cooperstown, and the measure passed with Rep. Greg Relic, R-Unadilla, and Fournier, Schwerd and Powers voting "no." |
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