![]() Klein proudly admitted to writing those words and said he meant what he said, “every single one of those words,” and still does. Mezey told the room the words he spoke in opposition were not his own, but rather, those of Legislator Klein, written in an email to the STPB in February of 2023. ![]() “Imagine how the public would feel knowing that there was over a million dollars in non-property tax money, sitting there to be used, and we failed to do so.” ![]() “If we lose these organizations due to theoretical procedure or definitional issues, we will have failed in our mission and we will have failed our community,” Mezey said. He said he is currently aware of two organizations, which he did not name, that say they are on the verge of having to close if they do not receive funds. He said the current climate for arts and culture businesses and organizations is “an emergency.” Legislator Greg Mezey also spoke in fierce opposition to Champion’s motion to postpone approving the resolution. John spoke out in opposition to postponing the vote during the meeting, and said that while he is usually always in favor of getting legal advice, in this instance, he does not see how legal advice would change the legislature’s view or vote. Klein said Troy had been preoccupied with a trial the past two weeks and was unable to do so before the meeting last week. He said there had been questions regarding the legal validity of his proposed amendment, so he waited to propose it until Bill Troy, the county attorney, could verify its legality. But, it turned out, “they were not in trouble and didn’t need bailing out,” Klein said in reference to the 2022 budget surplus. Less tax revenue flowing from these overnight stays meant less was available for arts and culture businesses and organizations. It surpassed their budget by over $2 million.”įrom his point of view, Klein said the council allocated money to the Hotel Tax Fund at a time when tourism was declining, and in turn, so did the number of overnight stays that financed the fund in 20. “Their total revenues went from about $3 million before the pandemic to over $4 million in 2022. They rebounded from the pandemic like crazy,” Klein said. “What nobody knew at the time was that 2022 was going to be a record-breaking year for the Hotel Tax Fund. In an interview with The Ithaca Voice, Klein explained that when the body approved the bailout, both in 20, everyone on council agreed the depleting amount available for distribution in the Hotel Tax Fund amounted to an urgent situation, and that tourism-centered businesses and organizations, mostly in the arts, needed help, or people would lose their jobs and Ithaca its charm. When the pandemic struck in 2020, and people stopped traveling, room tax revenue fell by 58%, leaving significantly less in the Hotel Tax Fund for distribution to arts and cultural organizations that benefit from the tax, according to Tompkins County Legislature minutes from a meeting on July 6, 2021. In July of 2021, the body voted again to allot $573,000 to the fund, which made the legislature’s total contribution $1.24 million, according to Tompkins County Legislature minutes from the July 6 meeting. She said she is wholly supportive of allocating funds to arts organizations, but has “questions and concerns” about the legality of the additional amendment, which is being proposed by fellow legislator Dan Klein.īack in March of 2020, for the first time in history, the county legislature unanimously voted to allocate $665,000 out of the body’s Contingent Fund into the Hotel Tax Fund to keep doors open and workers employed in light of the pandemic. Legislator Amanda Champion motioned to postpone voting on the resolution by citing her knowledge of a proposed amendment that is still in the works. The resolution recommends that a “large portion” of the funding from the program be allocated to supporting the stabilization of vulnerable arts and cultural organizations. ![]() ![]() The resolution was written and proposed by the Strategic Tourism Planning Board (STPB), the legislative advisory board responsible for recommendations for grant funding and allocation, and would modify the Budget Adjustment Tourism Program for 2023. TOMPKINS COUNTY, N.Y.-Tompkins County legislators postponed a vote to pass a resolution that would direct surplus funds from the county’s Hotel Tax Fund to local culture and arts organizations at their monthly meeting on Tuesday of last week. ![]()
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