Ohio: Fighting over crumbs

Monday, Dec. 24, 2012

$30M from casinos may not be shareable

Library, cities and townships have asked county to share casino taxes, but it might not be legal.

 

By Tiffany Y. Latta

Local cities and townships that want a share of casino money from Clark County government may face an uphill battle.

The County Commissioners Association of Ohio has raised questions about whether counties can legally give municipalities money unless it’s for a specific project or service, such as funding roads.

“There is a serious legal question if the county can simply give money to other political subdivisions through an appropriation,” CCAO Director Larry Long wrote in a memo sent to county leaders with “talking points” on revenue sharing requests.

The Hollywood Casino Toledo, Horseshoe Casino Cleveland and the Hollywood Casino Columbus combined have brought in more than $293 million in total revenues. So far the casinos have sent more than $59 million in taxes to the state, with about $30 million of that designated for Ohio’s 88 counties and eight largest cities.

Clark County has received more than $360,000 from the casinos as of late October, including a single payout that month of more than $239,000. Champaign County has received more than $104,000.

The memo to county leaders comes months after the New Carlisle Public Library requested $50,000 and New Carlisle, Bethel Twp. and Springfield also asked for a share of the county’s casino money.

Municipalities and townships say the money is needed because of local government fund cuts and other reductions as a result of the 2012 state budget.

Several townships have asked for a share of casino money, Ohio Township Association Director Matthew DeTemple said, but his organization hasn’t taken an issue on the matter.

But he said because state cuts have hit smaller communities hard, legislatures have acknowledged that there is a need to redistribute local government funds.

“There’s no harm in asking, but there’s also no legal obligation for them to do that,” DeTemple said.

Clark County Administrator Nathan Kennedy said the county has no plans to spend casino revenue or distribute it to area municipalities and other entities for at least a year because current casino revenue estimates are unreliable.

“I just don’t think it’s prudent. It doesn’t mean no, it just means not now,” Kennedy said.

Long’s memo reiterates that point, saying the financial performance of casinos are already “significantly less than anticipated.”

“The value of receiving casino revenues is extremely speculative. We remain critically concerned with this revenue’s reliability and performance. And the limited experience we do have suggest we are well found in our concerns,” Long wrote.

Long also advised officials to obtain a legal ruling from a prosecutor before sharing any casino money and to remind municipalities of the services county governments pay for, such as the county jail, mental health and human services.

He also said voters approved casino revenue allocations to counties and schools, and any change would require an amendment to the state Constitution, an option township supporters say they aren’t currently pursuing.

The Hollywood Casino Columbus, which opened Oct. 8., brought in more than $18 million in it’s first month and more than $20 million in revenue in November.

Counties receive four payments annually from casinos, with the first distributed this past July. The next payment for the county is at the end of January. School districts will receive two casino payments per year, with the first coming at the end of January

Revenues from casinos in Toledo and Cleveland have dropped since June, said Long from the county commissioners association, and he speculated that all of the casinos will likely see a decline when racinos — slot machines at race tracks — open. He also said counties are “under a threat” to lose additional local government funds in the 2013 state budget.

No one wants a fight between smaller communities and counties, Long said, but instead want the entities to fight to restore money cut in the last state budget.

“We all got cut. All of us got the double whammy. We understand the problems they have … A lot of small municipalities and townships are hurting. We’d love to see the restoration of some of that funding, but we won’t know until February,” Long said.

http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/news/local-govt-politics/30m-from-casinos-may-not-be-shareable/nTcrt/