Lately, upstate New York has been buzzing with film crews, as the industry searches for alternatives to shooting in expensive L.A. and New York City. Jane Fonda on location in Woodstock! Sundance bait in Sullivan County!
All this action is undoubtedly glitzing up the region's image -- and, more importantly, injecting cash into local economies. But that's not enough for some of Kingston's elected officials, who seem intent on prying open the gift horse's mouth to see if it's got any golden teeth. Mayor James Sottile wants to charge film companies a fee to operate in city limits. From Thursday's Freeman:
Landi, D-Ward 3, defended the proposed fee, saying “these production companies make big money,” and “taxpayers in the city are inconvenienced” by traffic tie-ups caused by filming and should be reimbursed for those headaches.
City Fire Chief Richard Salzmann, who has dealt with film companies shooting in Kingston, said they have told him they like working in Kingston “because there (is) no red tape.”
Sottile, in a memo on the issue, wrote that the proposed fee “will not only assure that we are protecting our assets, but also taking advantage of an opportunity to bring in additional revenues.”
Meanwhile, in a neighboring state somewhat unfairly dubbed "Taxachusetts," film companies are getting massive tax breaks to do business in the state. In a tough budget year, Massachusetts lawmakers have argued fiercely -- not about whether to charge filmmakers, but about how big of a carrot they should be using to lure them to the state.
Over at the Kingston Citizens blog, Rebecca Martin is disgusted with the Kingston pols.
Alright, city officials. It’s one thing to have a lack of ideas on how to create jobs in the area, specificially in the city of Kingston. It’s a whole other ball of wax to be potentially chasing away the lucrative film industry from the of Kingston. Good grief.
Lets get real about our budget woes. It’s a tricky, inflated pandoras box not because of the growing costs of city services. It’s due to unrealistic contracts and pensions. So collecting a few thousand dollars from a film production company who stands to pour tens of thousands into our local economy (not to mention a good amount of free press) doesn’t make any sense what-so-ever.
