BY JIMMY LAWTON
North Country This Week

Ogdensburg and St. Lawrence County have reached agreement on sales tax sharing, with both boards passing resolutions May 2.

Both resolutions call on the state to pass Municipal Home Rule legislation that “codifies a sales tax receipt sharing agreement” between the city and the county that would evenly split all sales tax collected within Ogdensburg.

While the county and city were set to split 3 of the 4 percent in sales tax collected there, both entities are calling on the state to make it official that the last 1 percent is also shared evenly.

The county and the city have feuded over sales tax for years, which eventually led Ogdensburg to begin collecting its own, rather than relying on the county to split the take.

The county argued that the city received a disproportionate share compared to other municipalities, while Ogdensburg officials contended that the amount received was equitable due the differences in services provided to the city when compared to towns and villages.

Last year Ogdensburg sought state legislation that would ensure the city would be able to collect the last 1 percent, but it failed to pass in the Assembly.

Now with the county and city in agreement on the split, both boards are hoping to see the legislation pass the state level and put the issue in the rear view mirror.

The sales tax dispute caused a major rift between the two entities which escalated into a lawsuit over property foreclosure jurisdiction authority which is still being decided in court.

Although it’s technically unrelated to sales tax, the county’s decision to modify a longstanding sales tax formula led city officials to work toward moving a variety of costly services over to the county to make up for the projected loss.

The city asked the county to take over police dispatch services and has even suggested investigating the feasibility of moving all police services over to the county.

The resolution passed 4-0 in Ogdensburg, however councilors Nichole Kennedy, Michael Powers and Dan Skamperle were not present for the meeting.