County will share taxes with village

YATES COUNTY—The Yates County Legislature approved the sharing of additional occupancy tax revenue with the village of Penn Yan for its new hotel projects during their meeting Monday, Dec. 9. The county entered into an intermunicipal agreement with the village for the “sharing of the annual increase in occupancy tax revenue attributable to hotels and motels located within the village,” according to the resolution.
Legislator Tim Dennis said the resolution came after several months of discussion with the village of Penn Yan, calling its passage “a momentous occasion.” He said the sharing of occupancy tax recognizes the village needs to take on extra expenses in order to support needed economic development. Dennis said by sharing some of the occupancy tax with the village, it will help offset some of the cost of economic development.
The village of Penn Yan had originally approached the county earlier in the year about the possibility of sharing future revenue brought about by the approval for construction of a Microtel on Elm Street and a Hampton Inn on the Keuka lakefront. The resolution states the county will agree to pay Penn Yan beginning in 2016 and continuing through 2025 the net share of the village occupancy tax revenue increase. Beginning in 2026, the county will pay the village half of the net share of the village occupancy tax revenue increase unless the two parties come to a different written agreement.
The agreement is based on the county’s occupancy tax rate of 4 percent. If there is an increase in the tax rate in the future, the agreement would not be applicable to any revenue attributable to the difference between the increased tax rate and 4 percent.
The legislature also approved an intermunicipal agreement with the village related to payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreements for the two projects. According to this agreement “The county will pay to the village of Penn Yan [...] an amount equal to the difference between the amount of village real property tax revenue the village of Penn Yan would have received that particular calendar year for the subject parcel if the PILOT agreement was not in full force.” This agreement pertains to both of the new hotel projects in the village.
In other business:
• The legislature authorized the filling of a vacant sheriff’s deputy position. Legislator Donna Alexander said this is to replace a deputy who retired Nov. 30.
• The legislature approved an agreement with Finger Lakes Regional Telecommunications Development Corporation for work on an open access model backbone network within the bounds of Yates County. Dennis said this is the next step in the progress being made on the dark fiber project. He said it will take a few years to complete, but it will be the river of essential economic development in the county.