LITTLE VALLEY — Cattaraugus County has not yet received its final casino revenue payments from New York State, but it’s eyeing a $636,950 deficit — half of the $1,273,902 the county budgeted for 2017.
Seneca Nation officials notified state officials earlier this year that they would be making their final revenue sharing payment to the state under the 14-year Seneca Gaming Compact.
An automatic seven-year extension of the compact, which makes no mention of the continued revenue sharing payments to the state, went into effect without either party raising any questions.
“We have received one-quarter of the payment we anticipated this year,” County Administrator Jack Searles. A second payment is due from the state soon. The state returns 25 percent of its 20 percent share of slot machine revenues from the Seneca Allegany Casino to local communities.
Seales said he spoke with legislative leaders Wednesday to update them on the casino revenue situation. This year’s casino revenue of $1,273,901 is about 2 percent of the county budget’s $54.5 million tax levy.
The county’s Tier I revenue from the casino funds equals the amount of property taxes lost when property on the Allegany Territory — almost all of the City of Salamanca and portions of surrounding towns — is purchased by an enrolled Seneca and comes off the property tax rolls.
The city of Salamanca and Salamanca City School District also receive funding from the casino revenue sharing from the Seneca Allegany Casino.
“I don’t have a sense or feeling if that money will be coming to the county or not in 2018,” Searles said in a telephone interview Thursday.
The county has found itself in this position in the past when the Seneca Nation withheld revenue sharing payments for three years to the state over charges that the state allowed casino gaming within its area of exclusivity that extended to Route 14, east of Rochester. After the disagreement was resolved to the satisfaction of the Senecas, the revenue sharing funds were retroactively distributed to municipalities.
The first draft of the county’s 2018 tentative budget assumes that the casino revenues will flow again next year. That could change.
“I continue to be optimistic that the two parties will get together and resolve this issue,” the county administrator said. “I want to give everyone the latitude to work things out. It’s a matter that’s not in our hands. It depends on the parties. I hope common sense prevails.”
Searles said, “I just hope the two parties can sit down and talk to each other.”
Earlier this week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo abruptly canceled a meeting with Seneca Nation President Todd Gates in Niagara Falls and threatened to permit a new casino in Niagara Falls to compete with the Seneca Niagara Casino if they did not resume revenue sharing payments. Since 2002, the Seneca Nation has turned over more than $1 billion in revenue sharing under the compact.
“For right now, I have put the legislators on notice that we have a deficit in our 2017 budget” from the loss of casino revenue sharing money, Searles said.
Besides funds to make up for the loss of property tax revenue from Seneca-owned property in Salamanca, Searles said the county has lesser direct costs and funds it uses for economic development projects.
“I don’t expect any more (payments) for direct costs or economic development at this point in time,” Searles said.
“I’m hopeful and optimistic the two sides will get together and resolve it.”
The county administrator said, “I still have some time before I have to pull the trigger on the budget.” The 2017 budget totaled $228.6 million.
The county budget is released on the Wednesday after Election Day and is passed before Thanksgiving.
(Contact reporter Rick Miller at rmiller@oleantimesherald.com. Follow him on Twitter, @rmilleroth.)
