Suffolk County Legislature approves hotel tax increase

The Suffolk County Legislature on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved raising a tax on hotel stays to fund cultural and tourism promotion agencies as well as projects surrounding the proposed Ronkonkoma convention center.

The current 3% hotel-motel tax on the per diem rate for nightly stays within Suffolk County will rise to 5.5% on June 1. County officials said the increase will raise the annual revenue from about $11 million to about $20 million. The tax is levied in addition to the county’s 8.625% sales tax.

Supporters, which included tourism groups and labor unions, said the money will help make Long Island’s first convention center a reality and create thousands of jobs. Critics, which included East End business owners, said the tax will largely be paid by their customers while at best providing moderate benefits to their towns.

The money has historically supported tourism promotion as well as institutions like the Walt Whitman Birthplace site in Huntington Station and the Vanderbilt Museum in Centerport.

The increase would partly support a new Suffolk County Infrastructure Fund, which could be used for “the planning, design and construction of a convention center and surrounding infrastructure," according to the law adopted by the legislature.

The Ronkonkoma convention center has been proposed as part of a $2.8 billion redevelopment project known as Midway Crossing.

The tax increase will also raise the amount the county pays the local tourism promotion agency, Discover Long Island, from $2 million to $6 million.

The legislature voted 14-3 in favor of the tax hike, with its two East End members, Legis. Bridget Fleming (D-Noyac) and Legis. Al Krupski (D-Cutchogue) in opposition. Legis. Anthony Piccirillo (R-Holtsville) voted against it as well. 

Fleming and Krupski said their districts, which encompass the North Fork and the Hamptons, don't need promotion. Fleming noted that Montauk visitors generate about one-third of the tax collected and the hamlet has its own infrastructure needs, such as sewers and protection from coastal erosion.

“They're teetering on the edge of the ocean,” she said. “Why not create an infrastructure fund that helps the golden goose that's laying this egg?” 

Piccirillo, who has questioned the convention center's viability, has said he would not vote for the tax increase in an uncertain economy.

Other legislators said the tax will be paid largely by people who do not live in Suffolk County, although it applies to residents as well. 

“This is a great way of raising revenue without hitting our taxpayers on the head,” said Legis. Dominick Thorne (R-Patchogue).

Legis. Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst), presiding officer of the legislature, said any proposed future changes, such as the way the funds are distributed, would require approval from state lawmakers.

Also Tuesday, the legislature voted 17-0 to approve an agreement with the Suffolk County Superior Officers Association that will pay those members a stipend in exchange for wearing body cameras, along with other contract changes.

Members of the SOA, which includes about 450 police supervisors, will be paid a $500 annual stipend that will increase every six months until maxing out at $3,000 in July 2025, according to the agreement.

The deal also adds Juneteenth as a paid holiday, adds a day of mental health training for officers and allows police complaints to be made to the civilian Suffolk County Human Rights Commission before they are forwarded to the department's Internal Affairs Bureau. The agreement also authorizes mental health professionals to respond to certain emergency calls and changes officer shifts to reduce costs. 

Officials said the agreement is similar to one reached with the Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association in 2021. SOA president James Gruenfelder called it a "fair deal" for his members and said they support working with a crisis team for certain mental health-related calls.

The SOA changes are part of the 2021 plan developed by the Suffolk County Police Reform and Reinvention Task Force. 

“The reform plan is an ongoing, living document,” Suffolk County deputy county executive and task force co-chair Jon Kaiman told Newsday. “There's a constant … cultural change that we're making in terms of policing.”

By Vera Chinese

vera.chinese@newsday.com@VeraChinese

Vera Chinese covers Suffolk County government and politics. She joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.