The town of Watertown's proposal to subsidize the construction of a new convention center through bed tax revenue has met stiff resistance from a pair of key county legislators.
"I'm not in a position to raise taxes for someone else to spend money," said Legislator Scott A. Gray, who is chairman of the Legislature's Finance and Rules Committee. "My responsibility is to provide the current level of services with the current dollars we're working with. If (Watertown Town Supervisor) Joel (Bartlett) wants to tax for it, that's his business."
The town's proposal includes asking the county to add one percentage point to its 3 percent tax on hotel and motel rooms. The town would then request a large share of the additional revenue to offset the debt service on the $12.6 million project. That annual payment could reach nearly $750,000.
To comply with the town's request, the county would have to amend a local law that established the bed tax rate and the formula for distributing funds back to the towns and city from which they were derived.
"I'm strongly opposed to opening up the bed tax formula," said Legislator Philip N. Reed, who represents Alexandria, a popular tourist destination. "The bed tax is designed for promotional use and it works well for the people that use it the way it's intended."
The town wants to locate the 67,905-square-foot dome structure along Interstate 81. The roughly 12-acre site is owned by Vision Development, whose principal is Alexandria Bay developer James M. Donegan. The town intends to ask the city to forgive property taxes on the parcel. That will also help pay down the debt service for the regional facility, the town council said.
"It seems like a pretty ambitious thing for a town government to do," said city Mayor Jeffrey E. Graham.
The city took in about $8,500 in taxes from that property, which is assessed at $1.2 million, during the 2007-08 fiscal year.
City Councilman Jeffrey M. Smith said the proposal has both merits and drawbacks. It would provide a large venue not available locally, he said. But giving a property tax break to the town could alienate other business owners.
"I applaud that they're blurring the lines" between town and city, he said. "I want to keep an open mind about this. I don't want to say 'yes' or 'no' yet."
But Mr. Gray, one of four lawmakers who represent the city on the Legislature, said he couldn't justify a tax break because city homeowners are already paying for the operation of the Watertown Municipal Arena at the Alex T. Duffy Fairgrounds.
"Why would our taxpayers want to pay for a second venue?" he asked. "We need to invest in the current one we have."
The 32,000-square-foot arena, built in 1975 on Coffeen Street, has a capacity of 3,000 people. The dome would have a capacity of 5,500.
Legislator Jennie M. Adsit, who also represents the city, is concerned about a potential tax break, but sees the dome's potential to bring in sales tax revenue.
"I think it's a good proposal. We need something like that around here," she said. "We're growing in population and people are more prone to get entertainment."
Other local lawmakers were hesitant to take a position just one day after the town unveiled its proposal.
"There's pros and cons to it," said Legislator Robert A. Boice, who represents the town on the county board. "I want to see what happens eventually, how other people think about it."
City Councilwoman Roxanne M. Burns added: "Quite frankly, Joel has been doing a lot of research and background on the concept, but I haven't had any conversations with him as far as how funding would go. I'm not opposed to it but I can't get on board and say 'yes' yet."
Mr. Graham, who has pushed for consolidating the city and town, said the proposal "pulls out the big magic eraser" in terms of boundary lines.
"We'll listen attentively, and maybe the end result is there won't be a town anymore," the mayor said.
Mr. Graham added that the "economics of this could be political poison."
The town is estimating an annual operating cost between $385,000 and $550,000, a figure that does not include the dome's debt service. Revenues are expected to be about $300,000.
Both Mr. Gray and Mr. Graham said they welcomed Mr. Bartlett or other town councilors to attend a county or city meeting and explain the project in further detail.
"Joel's been a pretty good visionary and ambitious about this project," the mayor said. "We'll see what he has to say when we meet with him."
