COMMON COUNCIL
Casino funds would pay for new officers
Slot machine players will foot the bill — at least indirectly — for 20 new police officers the city plans to hire.
The state is expected to forward about $2.5 million in casino revenues — double what Buffalo was expecting to receive, according to Donna J. Estrich, city administration and finance director.
And that money—not anticipated revenue from red-light camera tickets — will be used for the new police officers, the Brown administration told Common Council members Thursday.
Council President David A. Franczyk said it’s hard to believe the Buffalo Creek Casino is attracting such crowds. “That’s a lot of money for a little shack like that,” he said. “People are intent on parting with their money.”
The Seneca Nation of Indians opened what was supposed to be a temporary, slots-only facility in the small metal building in the Cobblestone District, while planning a much larger casino. But work on the bigger project was halted in the midst of the economic downturn.
As part of a casino compact, municipalities and the state share a portion of gambling revenue. The state receives 18 percent to 25 percent of casino revenues, depending on the year. Host communities receive a quarter of the state’s receipts, city officials said.
Delaware Council Member Michael J. LoCurto, a casino opponent, said he was not surprised the tiny casino has been attracting crowds, which he described as worrisome.
“A lot of senior citizens’ Social Security money will be paying for those police officers,” LoCurto said.
Franczyk and LoCurto had argued that counting on revenues from a red-light camera program to pay for the police officer would be risky, since the program hasn’t been launched yet.
So the lawmakers were relieved to learn Thursday that the mayor will remove from his spending plan $1.2 million in projected camera revenues and instead use the casino money for the new officers.
Lawmakers plan to meet at 2 p. m. next Thursday to vote on the $449.1 million budget.
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments