CHENANGO COUNTY – Three years after imposing an added tax on hotel rooms across Chenango County, local officials are seeing higher earnings than expected.

Members of the Chenango County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution in 2020 requesting that New York State approve home rule legislation to enact an occupancy tax, dubbed the “bed tax,” which mandates a fee of up to 4 percent on hotel, motel, and bed and breakfast rooms county-wide.

Bed tax revenue is used to promote tourism and events within Chenango County. In doing so, policymakers say it relieves the onus of tourism and promotion costs on real property taxpayers.

“Money for tourism had been raised on the real property tax levy, so real property taxpayers were paying that money,” explained County Treasurer Bill Craine. “We took that burden off the real property taxpayer and funded it instead with tourism dollars.”