By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
OLEAN — By this time next month, the City of Olean’s plan to institute a bed or occupancy tax could become effective.
Last week, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law a bill granting the city authority to levy a bed tax for up to 5% of the cost of a hotel, bed and breakfast or Airbnb short-term rental.
Mayor Bill Aiello told city aldermen earlier this week that a local law would be prepared and could be voted on by the Common Council Dec. 17.
Once approved and stamped by the Department of State, the city could begin collecting the bed tax, the mayor said — hopefully by Jan. 1.
Aiello said he’s spoken with Cattaraugus County Treasurer Matt Keller about how to go about collecting the bed tax. “They (county) already have a mechanism to collect it. Maybe we could work out something so the county could also collect for us.”
On Wednesday, Aiello said in his talks with Keller, he learned the county received about $100,000 from its 5% bed tax in the past year from Olean hotels, bed and breakfasts and Airbnb short-term rentals.
The city would receive the same 5% as the county, Aiello said.
The mayor said the receipts from the city’s bed tax would go to boost tourism and economic development.
“We’re working on it now,” Aiello said of the wording of the local law. “It should be on the agenda for Dec. 17.
Cattaraugus County, which has been collecting its bed tax for more than a decade, expects to receive $1,650,000 in bed tax revenue in 2025 — mostly from hotels and other lodgings in Ellicottville, Olean and Allegany.
Airbnb automatically collects the bed tax and forwards it to the County Treasurer’s Office.
A percentage of the bed tax revenue goes to Chambers of Commerce in Olean, Ellicottville and Salamanca.
The Department of Economic Development, Planning and Tourism also administers bed tax funds for county economic development programs.
