Simple investment could help yield millions of dollars for county
DAN MEYER Political Columnist
With less than 90 days left in his tenure as Erie county executive, I'm sure the cardboard boxes and packing peanuts have already been ordered as Joel Giambra prepares to vacate the big corner office on the Rath County Office Building's 16th floor.

While this column has been one of the many places you could turn to for open and honest criticism of our region's top elected official, it is my hope that, before he turns in his keys to the vehicle formerly manned by Victor Getz, Giambra would realize the importance of the oft-talked about "bed tax" dedication.

So in case you do not read this column regularly and haven't heard the passionate pleas of Andrew Rudnick from the Buffalo Niagara Partnership as well as folks from the county's Convention and Visitors Bureau, here is some advice to you, the reader, on how you can voice your opinion to Giambra about Erie County's hotel occupancy tax. All it would involve from each of you is a little reading, some basic typing and just a few clicks of a mouse.

First, a brief history lesson on why Rudnick and other stakeholders from the tourism industry have been advocating for the full dedication of the county's bed tax so that those funds can be used for promotion and marketing purposes.

The county's convention and tourism business is not only self-sustaining, it yields approximately a 20-to-1 return on investment, a particularly impressive accomplishment given the fact the county doesn't fully invest in what is a vital piece of the puzzle for business development.

Despite their repeated attempts to convince our elected officials that the full dedication of the hotel occupancy tax is the key that will unlock the door to a strategic plan for convention and tourism promotion and marketing, Rudnick and the fine folks from the Partnership, along with other major players in the local tourism industry, have been denied time and time again.

But, hopefully, change is on the way. There is now a proposal on the table to dedicate a figure that works out to be equal to approximately 80 percent of the bed tax revenues from 2006 to the Convention and Visitors Bureau, with plans to increase the funding to a full 100 percent by 2010.

Rudnick and company figure it is a compromise proposal that meets our community's needs when it comes to marketing and promoting convention and tourism in our region. The quicker this is done the better, especially since the impact of the infamous county budget crisis of 2005 is being felt now for convention and tourism business.

But here is the problem. Members of the Erie County Legislature have made it pretty clear that they are not planning anything dramatic until a new administration is in place. The bed tax issue is important, and it's something that Giambra needs to consider as he puts the finishing touches on the proposed budget for 2008.

Remember that 20-to-1 return on investment that the tourism industry in Erie County generates that I spoke about earlier? That figure could be significantly higher if the 80 percent dedication is included in the upcoming budget, meaning it is imperative that, in the words of Rudnick himself, "the pump be primed" with the inclusion of this dedication.

So now is the time to contact Giambra and let him know that leadership - the very thing he has been criticized for not providing in recent years - is needed on this issue. And leadership is needed now, not when Jim Keane or Chris Collins is figuring out where to place the jelly bean bowl on the big desk in the previously mentioned office at the top of the Rath Building.

The proposed budget is due out at the middle of this month, so time is of the essence. If you have a computer, simply visit the Buffalo Niagara Partnership's Web site at www.thepartnership. org and follow the easy-to-use instructions on how to send an e-mail to Giambra.

The 90-second investment could help yield tens of millions of dollars in visitor spending here in Erie County, and that, in the words of Martha Stewart, would be a good thing.

(Daniel Meyer is a columnist for the Weekly Independent Newspapers of Western New York. Comments can be sent directly to Meyer via e-mail to: meyersmusings@gmail.com. Opinions expressed here are those of the author.)