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City attorney outlines proposed 70/30 TLT settlement with Orla to be memorialized on consent calendar
Summary
City Attorney Sean Kidd told the council a resolution will memorialize a 70/30 split of Transient Lodging Tax revenue as part of a settlement with Orla; council previously debated the correct allocation percentage and the resolution will appear on the consent calendar for formal approval.
Sean Kidd, the city attorney, told the council on Monday that a resolution to memorialize a 70/30 split of Transient Lodging Tax (TLT) revenue would appear on Wednesday’s consent calendar as part of a settlement with Orla.
Kidd summarized the dispute’s history, saying parties previously disagreed over the appropriate allocation to tourism‑related expenditures (the city at times interpreted the law as requiring roughly 44–45% while Orla argued for a much higher share). He said that, averaged over many years, Albany has historically spent about 72% of TLT revenue on tourism or tourism‑related facilities. “Basically, yeah,” Kidd said when asked whether the 70/30 split reflected historical practice; he added the settlement includes language allowing the city to change its allocation to mirror any future change in state law.
A councilor asked for clarity because a constituent had expressed frustration about the time and resources spent on litigation and perceived lack of transparency. Kidd said the settlement is intended to resolve a long‑running dispute dating back to roughly 2010 and that the resolution memorializes the agreed split.
What’s next: The resolution will be on the Wednesday consent calendar for formal adoption; no vote occurred at the work session.
