St. Lawrence County legislators passed a one-year extension on the sales tax agreement between the county and the City of Ogdensburg.

With agreement already approved by the city council, the deal should put a pause on contentious negotiations that have taken place over the past year.

The resolution gives the county and city an option to extend the existing agreement until Nov. 30, 2021 in case they need more time to bargain.

The resolution included a modification that County Attorney Steve Button said was added at the request of the state Comptroller’s Office.

“There is no intention at this point to hamstring the county or the city,” Button said. “This is a one-year extension of the exact terms we have right now as is.”

The amended portion of the resolution says “Whereas, should the parties fail to reach an agreement concerning the allocation and distribution of money collected from the sales and compensating use taxes covering the period commencing Dec. 31, 2020 and ending Nov. 20, 2030 with the City of Ogdensburg by Nov. 21, 2021, the county reserves all rights and privileges accorded to it under the New York State Tax Law.”

The county resolution also notes that the county and city have previously negotiated an amendment to their original deal “specifying the distribution and revenue from an additional 1% of the sales and compensating use taxes.”

Help keep St. Lawrence County informed

Until now, advertising has provided the income to pay our news staff. But with a cutback in advertising due to the COVID-19 crisis, our ability to continue free news coverage is threatened.  Please donate to NorthCountryNow.com and North Country This Week so we can keep St. Lawrence County informed.  Thank you.