In describing Onondaga County, County Executive Joanie Mahoney said “the arrows are pointing in the right direction.”

That was the common theme at Mahoney’s State of the County address Tuesday night, which covered the financial state of the county, economic projects for the future, the potential for government consolidation and an appearance by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

 One major announcement from the address was that a new film hub will be built on the land of the Collamer Crossings Business Park in Dewitt. The space will be used for film production, post-production and distribution, said Alain Kaloyeros, the CEO of State University of New York College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering.

Kaloyeros said once completed, the project will provide the marketing coordination and logistics necessary to support film production in Onondaga County.

The county invested $1.4 million to help develop the site for the project. The first tenant for the building will be Film House, a film company whose founder, Ryan Johnson, was at the address.

Cuomo said New York state offers a film tax credit to attract filmmakers, which has helped bring projects to Upstate New York.

“It’s a whole economy unto itself,” Cuomo said. “Hollywood comes to Onondaga. Who would have ever guessed?”

Aside from the announcement of the film hub, Mahoney focused on the economic outlook for Onondaga County in her address.

Mahoney said at the end of 2013, the unemployment rate in Onondaga County was 5.9 percent, which she said is “still not back to job levels before the recession, but it’s headed in the right direction.”

She added that the county finished 2013 with a $12.2 million surplus, and was rewarded with high bond ratings.

One of the causes of the surplus, and a major topic of discussion during the evening, was sales tax revenue in Onondaga County, which Mahoney said has continued to increase.

“I think there’s a perception that the city and country are funded with property tax, but the reality is more and more that we are funded with sales tax,” she said.

She said one of the most significant generators of sales tax in the county is Destiny USA. The mall is the top employer in the region, and brings in revenue from visitors and tourists as well, Mahoney said, adding that Destiny produces in $48 million in sales tax for the state, county and city to share.

“The increased sales tax revenue is allowing Onondaga County to reduce property taxes,” Mahoney said, adding that the county’s property tax rate is at the lowest it’s ever been.

Though the sales revenue in the county has steadily increased, Mahoney said many citizens still aren’t feeling economic relief. She attributed it to the fact that there are so many other taxes residents have to pay.

Mahoney said the county is still working on consolidating certain areas of government to eliminate some of those extra taxes.

Cuomo praised Mahoney and Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner, who was also in attendance, for their work in finding shared service between the county and city to make the government more efficient.

Cuomo said throughout New York there are regions with decreasing population numbers but a rising number of government employees, which increases the tax burden on citizens. He said other areas throughout the state should take note of what Miner and Mahoney are doing to consolidate services.

Cuomo closed his portion of the address by echoing Mahoney, saying while Central New York may have had a tough time economically during the recession, the region has a bright future.

“We were just taking a pause in our development and now the sky is the limit,” he said. “The arrows are pointed in the right direction. Every asset, every resource you can imagine, we have it right here.”

Published on March 5, 2014 at 2:10 am

Contact Brett: blsamuel@syr.edu | @Brett_Samuels27