A proposed change to the way Chautauqua County’s bed tax is distributed won’t provide all the funding needed for Chautauqua Lake maintenance — but it is a good start.

As was reported in Saturday’s edition of The Post-Journal, extending the county’s 5% occupancy tax for another three years will come with some changes drafted by Assemblyman Andrew Goodell, R-Jamestown, that were shared recently in draft form with county legislators.

According to the bill’s legislative justification, the bill is designed to make sure half of the lake management and enhancement funds are used for activities performed by the Chautauqua Lake Association, Chautauqua Lake Partnership, Cassadaga Lakes Association, Findley Lake Watershed Foundation, Bear Lake Association, and for Mobitrac and shoreline cleanup. The money is not supposed to be used for third-party staff expenses for project evaluation, supervision or related management or administrative expenses, such as the county watershed coordinator or the Chautauqua Lake & Watershed Management Alliance.

Currently, according to Goodell, roughly 18% of the 2% occupancy tax for lakes and waterways is spent in lake maintenance activities. Roughly $150,000 is spent for in-lake management, $150,000 is budgeted for the Chautauqua Lake Watershed and Management Alliance, $106,000 is spent on the salary of David McCoy, county watershed coordinator, and then roughly $200,000 is spent on watershed maintenance.

“That will result in a substantial shift, or should result in a substantial shift to in-lake management,” Goodell said.

It’s a shift that should have happened years ago. County legislators should approve the new legislative language and then figure out how the county will meet the new mandate.