OBSERVER Photo by Gregory Bacon Pictured are members of the Chautauqua County Legislature.

MAYVILLE – Chautauqua County is moving forward with a request to the state to keep its occupancy tax the same for the next two years.

Democrats voted against the request, questioning why the legislation wasn’t brought before county lawmakers earlier so they could propose changes.

Chautauqua County collects a 5% tax on all motels, hotels, bed and breakfast establishments, Airbnbs and other short-term rentals.

Forty percent of the tax collected goes to fund the protection of lakes, streams and waterways. The remaining 60% is used to promote tourism. Of that 60%, half goes to the Chautauqua County Visitors Bureau. The other half is spent to promote tourism as dictated by the county legislature through grants.

The occupancy tax has been in place in Chautauqua County for around 20 years. Every two years a request needs to be sent to the state requesting that it either stay the same or changes be made.

Oftentimes when the legislation is up for renewal, the county legislature holds a vote requesting the state representatives write bills and then a second vote takes place, saying they support the bills that have been introduced.

During Wednesday’s legislature meeting, Legislator Fred Larson, D-Jamestown, brought up the fact that the legislature did not request the bills be written and asked why that was the case.

Retired County Attorney Steve Abdella, who has been serving as the legislature’s parliamentarian, said the county is not required to request the bills be written.

“Although we typically do that, when there were conversations with our state legislators, they offered to go ahead and create the bills for the occupancy tax extension, with the original 3% and the 2% for waterways, so we did not move forward with the informal resolution, knowing that the bills would be created,” he said.

Larson expressed disappointment with that because the last time the legislation was written, it was stated that half of the 3% money collected must go to the Visitors Bureau.

“They’re an entitlement entity as a private entity of government money that we raise through our decision to tax. I don’t like that,” he said.

Larson, who is a board member of the Chautauqua County Visitors Bureau, said he has nothing against the organization, but believes they should be required to go before the county legislature when requesting occupancy tax funds.

“For almost 20 years nobody was entitled to get money that this legislature didn’t vote on and all of a sudden we got mandated to hand over half the money, regardless of how much it might be, to a private organization,” he said.

When the time came to vote, both Larson and Legislator Tom Nelson, D-Jamestown, voted against it. They were the only two Democratic legislators in attendance, as Bob Bankoski of Dunkirk, Marcus Buchanan of Dunkirk, and Tom Carle of Fredonia were absent, along with Republican legislator John Penhollow of Stockton.

The state Legislature will have the final say, although because the county passed the resolution Wednesday, it is assumed the occupancy tax will continue.