ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) – New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney and Sen. James Whelan, a former Atlantic City mayor, have introduced a series of bills aimed at helping the city’s eight surviving casinos while stabilizing the city’s finances.
The bills would:
– Allow the casinos to pay a collective $150 million in lieu of property taxes for the next two years. The contribution from each casino would be determined based on how many acres of real estate each one owns, the number of hotel rooms at each and the annual gambling revenue won by each casino.
After the first two years, payments would be $120 million a year, as long as Atlantic City’s annual gambling revenue is between $2.2 billion and $2.6 billion. If it falls between $1.8 billion and just under $2.2 billion, the payment would be $110 million. If revenue is between $1.4 billion and just under $1.8 billion, the payment would be $90 million, and if it falls below $1.4 billion, the annual payment would be $75 million.
Payments could rise to as much as $165 million a year if casino revenue rebounds to between $3.4 billion and $3.8 billion – a level that seems unlikely in the near future given Atlantic City’s eight-year revenue decline and the continued increase in casinos in neighboring states.
– Redirect an alternative casino investment tax – currently used for redevelopment projects – to pay down $25 million to $30 million of Atlantic City’s debt in each of the next 15 years.
-Create a new category of state education aid – applicable only to Atlantic City – to make up for the fact that its property has declined by 32 percent over the past five years. The aid would end when the city’s assessed property value recovers to 2008 levels.
– Require each casino to provide “suitable” health care and pension benefits, though it does not spell out what those minimum standards are. The plans would be fully funded by the casino.
– Eliminates the Atlantic City Alliance, the agency that spends $30 million a year to market the resort to other parts of the country. A commission appointed by Gov. Chris Christie has proposed using that money for a public-private development corporation to drum up new business in Atlantic City.
A spokesman for the Republican Christie said the bills from the Democratic senators are a welcome part of what will be an ongoing discussion of how best to help Atlantic City, where four of its 12 casinos have closed so far this year.
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