Could Cayuga County share some of the money it receives from its hotel occupancy tax with the City of Auburn?
Auburn City Council will vote Thursday on a resolution to send a request to the Cayuga County Legislature asking it to split the tax revenue collected from short-term rentals within Auburn’s municipal boundaries with the city. In the resolution, the city claims it will use the money it receives to “assist with funding our City of Auburn Historic and Cultural Sites Commission tourism promotion and development programs.”
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 Airbnb-style rental. Currently, the county has a 5% bed tax, something the city is hoping will be split evenly between the county and city for rentals within city limits.
Cayuga County has had a hotel occupancy tax since 1994. Tax revenue is collected by the county treasurer with the funds being used for tourism development and promotion for the entire county.
The resolution notes changes in the tourism industry over the past 30 years as the reason for needing to reassess the current funding model. For example, since 2018, Auburn has operated the New York State Equal Rights Heritage Center & Auburn, NY Visitors Center which promotes tourism, not only in the city, but across the county, region, and state.
The city is also home to many points of interest for tourists coming to Cayuga County, including Auburn Public Theater, the Cayuga Museum, Falcon Park, Fort Hill Cemetery, the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park, the Schweinfurth Arts Center, and the Seward House Museum.
While the entire county benefits from the tax money, it is the city that has to pay for the effects of increased traffic on the city’s infrastructure and emergency services. This was mentioned by City Councilor Terry Cuddy when Auburn began mulling its own room tax in December.
“We’re already seeing tourist numbers increasing, and it’s our infrastructure, the roads, the emergency, services, everything that the city provides takes the major brunt of the traffic so it makes total sense that we act upon this,” Cuddy said.
In order to implement its own proposed 5% tax, both Assemblyman John Lemondes and State Senator Rachel May would need to put forth Home Rule legislation for the city in their respective houses. May has already done so while Lemondes is seeking input from Auburn residents before deciding whether or not to support the tax.
In Cayuga County, Weedsport already has its own hotel occupancy tax. Other area municipalities with a bed tax include Canandaigua, Geneva, Ithaca, and Skaneateles.
