Now to that legislative grab-bag for Atlantic City that contained a revised plan to stabilize the town’s finances as it lurches back to life after a very tough two years. It also contains bills that would ask voters to approve casinos in North Jersey. They’re casinos that could siphon off gambling revenues from a town that’s desperately in need of revenue. Joining NJTV News Anchor Mary Alice Williams is Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian.
Williams: Competing North Jersey casino bills, both would require amending the Constitution so voters would have the final say. Is there enough support to get that on the ballot?
Guardian: I can’t say that there’s not enough support. It came out of the committees, if it goes to the ballot, we need to live to fight that battle. We certainly do not see gaming outside of Atlantic City as being good for the state of New Jersey, not just for the city of Atlantic City.
Williams: Are you optimistic that tax revenue for North Jersey casinos would in fact flow into Atlantic City if the Constitutional amendment is approved?
Guardian: No, I’m not. We don’t need that type of funding. What we need is to follow the constitution with clearly states that gaming is only permitted in the confines of Atlantic City. We lost four casinos, there is a proliferation of casinos in the northeast market. The eight casinos that we have right now seems to be the right size. All eight are doing well in Atlantic City as we close 2015. But, creating casinos in North Jersey would be devastating to Atlantic City. It would close three or four casinos. It would put 10,000 to 15,000 people out of work. They’ll all go on unemployment. It’s the state of New Jersey that has to pick up that tab and they’ll stop paying unemployment tax. They’ll be stopping with all of the other taxes that go to Trenton, like the parking fees, the luxury tax, the room taxes. Then of course there’s the sales tax on a billion dollars that has nothing to do with gaming at all. You have to look at that all together. Don’t think for a moment that if indeed the ballot issue passes that New York won’t immediately start looking in the Suffern area and New York City and Long Island to build a casino as well. You would siphon off the casino money and kill the projects here in Atlantic City, and it would be a few years away for the North Jersey casino to collapse, as well from additional competition from New York.
Williams: One of the interesting aspects of the two competing bills for the legislature have Atlantic City getting between 35 and 49 percent of North Jersey casino revenues off the top. But state Senate President Steve Sweeney said not one penny will go to Atlantic City’s government because Atlantic City has squandered too many opportunities. What do you say to that?
Guardian: I would have to say that I’m sure the Senator, who has been a very good friend of Atlantic City, is talking about the 35 years that we have gaming in existence. Certainly the public and private sector indeed have not done enough to stabilize business in Atlantic City. We’ve put all our eggs in one basket and now we’re suffering from that. We’re casino-centric and I’ve spent the last two years as mayor trying to devolve the city beyond just being a gaming destination. So whether it’s trying to bring those venues and activities that have nothing to do with gaming, or thinking outside of the box of tourism. I’m talking about bringing in universities, bringing in some corporate development, bringing in the medical school and then bringing in those type of activities. Those would attract people here when you’re not interested in gaming. That’s how we grow Atlantic City. We just need some time to be able to be stabilized.
Williams: Let’s talk about PILOT, the Payment in Lieu of Taxes bills. Governor Christie conditionally vetoed the plan initially and the Assembly approved a bill with Governor Christie’s changes. Are you satisfied with the changes in the revised PILOT plan?
Guardian: Yes. It’s too difficult to get legislation passed in New Jersey. Here we have four bills in which the gaming industry will be paying most of the taxes and our Assembly, and Senate and governor all agreeing on. The governor and the Senate President had established a series of summits last year to try and find out how they could help Atlantic City. By the second summit these four bills were created by the Senate President. A few months after they were passed by both the Assembly and the Senate we know the governor did some conditional veto which basically said we’re going to determine how casinos individually are going to pay their percentage by the local finance board of the state of New Jersey rather than by casino council. We’re also going to have the money flow through Trenton to make sure that Atlantic City keeps up their side of the bargain and continues to cut costs of running government and finding efficient ways to cut government.