Auburn will not be getting a cut of Cayuga County’s hotel occupancy tax.
The Cayuga County Legislature voted on Tuesday to keep its 5% hotel occupancy tax for another three years.
Earlier this month, the city approved a resolution asking the county to share half of its tax revenue collected from hotels and short-term rentals within the city. Auburn hoped to use its potential funds to support its historic and cultural sites but the county voted against it.
The county’s bed tax goes to fund the Cayuga County Tourism Office.
While there was discussion on Auburn’s request, the resolution passed by the legislature simply allowed the county to extend the tax for another three years.
Before her vote, Legislator Stephanie DeVito expressed her desire to work with the city on a way to allocate money to its historic and cultural sites.
“I am voting yes only because we need to bring the tax into the county but I am very firm on having a conversation so that we can implement money that will be allocated to the city’s historical and cultural sites,” said DeVito. “If we don’t pass this we will not have any money coming into the county period and we will not be able to have any conversation to be able to help anybody at all.”
A hotel occupancy tax, also known as a bed tax or room tax, is a tax on each night’s stay at a hotel, motel, or short-term rental such as Airbnb.
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