PORT HENRY | A proposed hike in the Essex County room tax from 3 percent to 5 percent has Moriah inn owners concerned that their businesses will be hurt, a point that’s contested by town officials.
At the April meeting of the Moriah town board, Supervisor Tom Scozzafava said he received an email blast from inn owners protesting the increase; earlier in the day the Moriah Chamber of Commerce had voted to send a letter opposing the tax.
“If they don’t want me to support it, my constituents, I won’t support it,” Scozzafava said. “All I ask is that those who are opposed to it look at it before being so quick to say ‘I’m against it,’ because we could be looking a gift horse in the mouth.”
$8,000 TO $10,000
The Essex County Board of Supervisors has asked the state legislature for permission to move ahead with the increase. Final details have yet to be worked out, but Scozzafava said the added revenue will be divided equally among the county’s 18 townships to be used by the towns for special events. It’s believed it will generate an added $8,000 to $10,000 for each town.
“I don’t know if the chamber can afford to give away $8,000 to $10,000 that comes from outside the area,” he said. “This isn’t something that the businesses will pay, this is something you will pay if you do any kind of travel. I really don’t believe someone is going to change their plans to come to Port Henry, N.Y., because of an extra $2 on a $100 room.”
Most other counties in the region already have a 5 percent room tax, Scozzafava said.
ADVANTAGE
But Tim Bryant, owner of the Red Brick Cafe and Village Inn, said a lower price point is an advantage that area inn and B&B owners have over other areas for travelers looking to stay somewhere between Glens Falls and Plattsburgh. And the 2 percent matters particularly to people wanting to book multiple rooms for weddings, reunions or other events.
“People are staying up here instead of Warren County,” he said. “Just to assume it will have no effect, that’s not the case.”
Bryant also said inn owners felt they had been left out of the process from the beginning, and that those took the risk of investing in an area where there were few places to stay.
“We’ve done what they wanted us to do,” he said. “We’ve invested several million dollars in this town.”
Now, he added, it feels as if they are being penalized for their efforts.
Scozzafava said he’s also heard complaints that most of the room tax revenues go to the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism based in Lake Placid. But “Lake Placid is the engine that drives the tourist economy,” he said. Whether you want to admit that or not, that’s where the money is generated.”
He added that while ROOST may focus on Lake Placid, it does a good job of promoting the Champlain Valley as well.
“Maybe there’s more that they could do but they certainly do a lot right now,” he said.
Scozzafava said he wants opponents to do more research on the proposal before making a final decision.
“I hope we can have some more discussion on it,” he said.
