CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (WKBW) — A new hotel bed tax is being proposed in the New York State Senate, by Senator April Baskin, for the Town of Cheektowaga.
Baskin said this is necessary because town expenses are going up and it has a "sizable debt." She said this proposed bed tax would help reduce the need for future borrowing and would limit major property tax hikes. Baskin has not said how much the bed tax would be.
"If we don’t get this money-saving bill done next month, Cheektowaga taxpayers will be faced with even more financial hardship," Baskin said. "Town costs are escalating each year, so a practical approach is a necessity, rather than the reckless practice of dipping into rainy day funds and buying high-interest bonds.”
Money raised from this bed tax would fund infrastructure improvements for town buildings and replace aging town vehicles.
She said Cheektowaga Supervisor Brian Nowak and Assemblymember Patrick Chludzinski both support the proposal.
Taxpayers would have "more money in their pocket," Baskin said, with this tax on 17 hotels in the town. She explained that the bed tax would offset the need for expensive bonds.
"Given the number of hotels and their locations, this bed tax makes more sense than the one proposed for the City of Buffalo," Baskin said. "And residents will see how the bed tax revenue benefits them because the Town must use it for capital projects: fixing snow plows and making repairs to the Senior Center.”
Governor Hochul's 2026 state budget has two important items that give City of Buffalo leaders the ability to make changes that could help the city climb out of a projected budget deficit. One of those plans is a bed tax for City of Buffalo hotels.
“Just looking at the state budget in the process has played out, I can't thank the governor enough for her support," Acting Mayor Chris Scanlon said. "The members of the Western New York delegation that fought hard to get Buffalo what it was looking for, to get the tools that we need to kind of rectify things financially here in the City of Buffalo, so I can't thank them enough."
