Town board passes resolution opposing separation of immigrant families

By Lauren Young

Staff Writer

A proposed bill that would enact a new hotel room occupancy tax in the Town of DeWitt has stalled in the state legislature and no further action is expected until the next legislative session in January.

State Senate Bill No. 8814, which will tack on an additional 2.75 percent hotel room occupancy tax on top of Onondaga County’s 5 percent room occupancy tax, was passed in the Assembly by a vote of 99 to 44, said DeWitt Councilor Jack Dooling during the town board’s June 25 meeting. Sponsored by Senator John DeFrancisco, the bill was introduced to the Senate on May 22 and was referred to the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations — where it seems it will stay.

“Unless we have a special session to reconvene, which is unlikely, the bill is dead until a special session happens or until the next legislative session,” said legislation supporter Assemblywoman Pamela Hunter. The possibility of the bill leaving the committee anytime soon is “very unlikely,” she said.

Because the current legislative session is over, the next session would be held January 2019, when the bill may be re-introduced.

Introduced last March, this hotel tax will affect roughly 33 DeWitt hotels to fund improvements to the Carrier Circle Hotel District.

These improvements include sidewalk and intersection enhancements, wayfinding signage, bike infrastructure and construction for the Carrier Park Field of Dreams project, a $12.5 million plan for a fully handicapped accessible, all-inclusive outdoor multi-sports athletic complex.

The tax is estimated to rake in $1.4 million annually.

While some residents have voiced approval of the tax, many DeWitt hoteliers have voiced concerns that it could hurt business, arguing that it could drive customers away to other hotels without the tax.

Also at the meeting, the board adopted a resolution opposing the separation of immigrant families.

The resolution, titled “Opposition to the Forcible Separation of Immigrant Families,” was introduced by board member Sam Young and seconded by board member Karen Rigney.

Young, author of the resolution, said “There are times that the actions of the government become so abusive, so below our standards of dignity and humanity” that the board must “call upon local leaders” to voice their stance on such an issue.

“I know it’s not a local issue, but it’s certainly a moral issue,” said Supervisor Ed Michalenko.

According to the resolution, “forced family separation and the intentional infliction of trauma upon children and parents are beneath the standards that we as citizens and elected officials of the Town of DeWitt are prepared to accept from our federal government,” and calls upon the federal government to “end these abusive practices.”

“This policy of zero tolerance is costly, taxing on our courts and unnecessarily punitive, especially as it affects family units,” said the resolution. “This policy of punishing innocent children and purposely disrupting families as a deterrent is a human rights abuse that causes unnecessary trauma to children and parents, and these practices in which our immigration authorities have been engaging are contrary to our nation’s moral commitment to human rights and dignity.”

However, the town “applauds the actions taken in opposition to this policy” by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, and calls upon him to “ensure that New York resources and funds, including New York National Guard forces, are not used in furtherance of the federal government’s zero tolerance policy.”

The board plans to forward a certified copy of the resolution to Congressman John Katko, U.S. senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, Governor Cuomo and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

According to Young, there have been a few other municipalities throughout the nation adopting similar resolutions, including New Orleans and St. Louis, Missouri.

The board additionally approved five new electric car charging stations — two at the town hall and three at Carrier Park — as part of a grant by the DEC, or state Department of Environmental Conservation.

The next DeWitt Town Board meeting will be held on July 9 at 7.m. at the DeWitt Town Hall.