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Allocations to 911 Service Granted in New York State

Posted on October 18th, 2010

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With casinos funneling so much money to state and local government programs, disputes on how shuch money is to be allocated has become such a common issue in states all across the country. New York is no exception, even with the recent resolution of an appropriation dispute. For months, there have been different opinions on how much the county of Berrien should be getting for providing emergency 911 services to and near the vicinity of the Four Wins Casino. The issue was finally put to rest when the parties finally agreed to cut the whole allocation in a clean half.

Last week ended the standoff regarding allocation issues as the Local Revenue Sharing Board of the Pokagon-New Buffalo Area voted 5-0 to grant Berrien County exactly half of the of the $101,376 amount that officials were asking to cover the cost of the dispatch service it provides. The board also granted 50 percent of the money the county asked for a year ago. That time though, the decision to give 50 percent was voted down. Witht this settlement, the couny would receive $50,688 for the year 2010 and $55,700 for the year 2009. In 2008, the county was far more successful, as it got 80 percent of the amount it originally asked for. Bill Wolf, the administrator of Berrien County, commented after the meeting was through, “We certainly believe it’s a specific cost. We’re very pleased the LRSB recognized it as an actual cost.”

The amount that was allocated by the board is a small portion of the 2 percent of the revenue Four Winds accumulated from its slot machines from the dates August 1, 2009, to July 31, 2010. The 2 percent is a required amount to be dispersed to municipalities, particularly to the area where the casino is located. The agreement that was approved by the parties when the casino opened stipulates that the tribe will be paying for any and all services if these would incur the providing body an increase in its operating costs. Wolf said that the 911 calls since the casino started operations in 2007 have doubled in the area of New Buffalo Township. Calls with the service have averaged to cost around $32.

Over the past weeks, a debate has been raging on what possible reasons there would be for Berrien County, which is responsible for patrolling the area of New Buffalo Township, for seeing a spike in calls to the area. There have been much consideration on whether the increase in calls has resulted form the operation of the casinos or not. Some have even speculated that they may just have been experiencing a sudden increase in criminal activity that has no connection whatsoever with the casinos. With its analysis of looking through the figures and taking out factors that are not circumstantial, the board made a decision that the increase in calls and dispatches are indeed caused by the casinos. But with the decision also came the agreement that the board would continue to look into the situation and the figures by comparing year to year data and such. Andy Vavra, a county commissioner for District 10 and a member of the LRSB board commented, “This is a benchmark that we can use as a starting point.”

Jeanne Dudeck, Chikaming Township supervisor and board member remarked, “It’s not a precedence. It will be reviewed next year.” Meanwhile, Pete Rahm, the chairman of the LRSB board and a trustee of the New Buffalo Township, clarified how important the 911 service the county provides. He said, “It’s good for the region. We want a good, strong 911, and coming to this decision is a good thing.” At the start of the week, other casino funds were already distributed: $39,231 was earmarked for the health department and $9,959 for costs of judicial and jail. Other recipients of the casino funds were New Buffalo Public Schools, Michigan College and the New Buffalo Public Library, aside from the counties and villages. Another topic on the special meeting of the Board last Friday was the distribution of PILTU, or Payment In Lieu of Taxes, which amounted to more than $5.1 million.