One Ontario County town is asking the State Senate and Assembly to introduce legislation that would allow the town to establish a three percent occupancy tax on hotel and short-term rental rooms. Geneva Town Supervisor Mark Venuti said across the state, counties and cities can have occupancy taxes, and very few towns have had them, until recently.
“You have to go to your legislators and get them to pass a law,” Venuti said on “FLX Morning” on Finger Lakes News Radio. “You know, we’re right next to the city. We have hotels in this town now. It’s a good place to get money where you’re not getting it from your residents, and people are used to paying a hotel tax, and the city’s is 3%, so we’re going to try to get the same.”
If approved, Venuti said the town would likely use the funding to address several priorities, including protecting the quality of Seneca Lake through expanded stormwater controls, making the area more attractive for tourism through park and infrastructure improvements, and supporting economic development, potentially by hiring or contracting a specialist to help attract new businesses, redevelop vacant properties, and encourage housing projects.
He added that if approved in 2026, implementation of an occupancy tax in the town likely wouldn’t happen before 2027.
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