DIVISION OF THE BUDGET
ANDREW M. CUOMO, GOVERNOR
ROBERT L. MEGNA, DIRECTOR
October 2, 2013 CONTACT: Morris Peters
dob.sm.press@budget.ny.gov
518.473.3885
Division of the Budget Details Estimated Revenue Allocation of Upstate New York Gaming and Economic Development Act
The New York State Division of the Budget today detailed the estimated fiscal impact of the Upstate New York Gaming and Economic Development Act. The Act authorizes up to four destination gaming resorts in Upstate New York and provides additional revenues from existing Native American gaming facilities to local governments, contingent on voter approval. The Act also authorizes 2,000 Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs) at Off-Track Betting facilities on Long Island. The total statewide fiscal impact of the Act is estimated to be $430 million annually. Funds are required to be used for additional school aid, property tax relief, and local government aid.
The Act was passed by the Legislature, and signed by the Governor on July 30, 2013. A referendum to amend the New York State Constitution to permit destination gaming resorts will go before voters on November 5, 2013. If approved, the State Gaming Commission will oversee regulation and evaluation of destination gaming resort applications which will be based on specific criteria, including economic activity and business development factors, local impact and siting factors, and workforce factors.
The Act would result in new revenue for all regions of the State. As defined by the statute, 80 percent of the State’s tax revenues will be used statewide for elementary and secondary education or property tax relief. Ten percent of the State’s tax revenues will be split equally between host municipalities and host counties. Ten percent of the State’s tax revenues will go to other counties in the region of the destination gaming resort to provide tax relief or educational assistance. The educational aid will be additive and will not be part of the State’s existing education formulae.
The Division of the Budget projects the Upstate New York Gaming and Economic Development Act will produce $238 million, annually, in additional aid for education or property tax relief across the entire State, plus an additional $192 million in annual local government aid. These estimates are based on an average of the different siting scenarios possible under the Act. The methodology for estimated revenues reflects factors such as proximity to population centers, regional income variations, potential impacts on existing VLT facilities, and the applicable tax rates in the gaming regions as specified in the Act. The estimates also include revenue from two new VLT facilities operated by the Nassau and Suffolk OTBs, which are expected to achieve results roughly similar to the VLT facility at the Yonkers raceway on a per machine basis.
Counties to receive Indian casino revenues
Under the Act, for the first time, every county in an Indian exclusivity zone will share in Indian gaming facility revenues. Ten percent of the net gaming revenue retained by the State from Native American gaming facilities will be distributed to the counties in each respective exclusivity zone, and existing tribal payments will be preserved. Western New York/Finger Lakes counties in the Seneca exclusivity zone will receive $50.4 million annually in local government aid. North Country counties in the Niagara Mohawk exclusivity zone will annually receive $8.9 million. Counties in the Central New York/Mohawk Valley region will annually receive $23.5 million as a result of the Act and the recent settlement with the Oneida Indian Nation of New York. These amounts are over and above the Statewide education or property tax relief funds that each region will receive from the new destination gaming resorts in other regions*.
The regional fiscal impacts are as follows:
- Western New York/Finger Lakes: $93.1 million annually
- North Country: $16.8 million annually
- Central New York/Mohawk Valley: $44.2 million annually
- Eastern Southern Tier**: $20.1 million annually (includes $6.4 million in host county aid)
- Capital Region**: $35.5 million annually (includes $11.4 million in host county aid)
- Catskill/Hudson Valley**: $51.0 million annually (includes $13.7 million in host county aid)
- New York City: $94.4 million annually
- Long Island: $63.3 million annually
- A potential fourth destination gaming resort would provide an additional $11.7 million annually to counties in one of the eligible Upstate gaming regions.
*The allocations reflect the Act’s preservation of Tribal exclusivity payments to localities in Niagara, Erie, Cattaraugus, St. Lawrence and Franklin counties, and expansion of such payments to Oneida County.
**These regions and municipalities within would receive aid for hosting destination gaming resorts.
According to Division of the Budget estimates, the projected annual revenue allocation accruing to counties and school districts from the Upstate New York Gaming and Economic Development Act is as follows:
Western New York/Finger Lakes
| County | School Aid/Prop Tax | County Distribution | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allegany | $1,221,758 | $303,192 | $1,524,949 |
| Cattaraugus | $1,979,340 | $8,196,195 | $10,175,534 |
| Chautauqua | $2,588,832 | $837,271 | $3,426,103 |
| Chemung | $690,099 | $278,730 | $968,828 |
| Erie | $13,626,315 | $8,334,783 | $21,961,098 |
| Genesee | $1,098,814 | $376,047 | $1,474,861 |
| Livingston | $1,000,283 | $406,350 | $1,406,632 |
| Monroe | $10,895,353 | $4,688,681 | $15,584,035 |
| Niagara | $3,170,910 | $24,653,982 | $27,824,892 |
| Ontario | $1,494,396 | $680,399 | $2,174,794 |
| Orleans | $893,318 | $268,576 | $1,161,894 |
| Schuyler | $131,218 | $58,040 | $189,258 |
| Steuben | $2,199,486 | $621,111 | $2,820,597 |
| Wayne | $882,550 | $291,429 | $1,173,979 |
| Wyoming | $580,616 | $262,657 | $843,273 |
| Yates | $266,357 | $158,903 | $425,260 |
| Regional Total | $42,719,644 | $50,416,344 | $93,135,988 |
North Country
| County | School Aid/Prop Tax | County Distribution | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clinton | $1,370,639 | $669,095 | $2,039,734 |
| Essex | $400,712 | $319,257 | $719,969 |
| Franklin | $1,080,407 | $3,187,500 | $4,267,907 |
| Hamilton | $31,240 | $39,152 | $70,393 |
| Jefferson | $2,097,369 | $985,460 | $3,082,828 |
| Saint Lawrence | $2,168,709 | $3,187,500 | $5,356,209 |
| Warren | $715,706 | $537,036 | $1,252,742 |
| Regional Total | $7,864,782 | $8,925,000 | $16,789,782 |
Central New York/Mohawk Valley
| County | School Aid/Prop Tax | County Distribution | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cayuga | $1,099,445 | $431,901 | $1,531,346 |
| Chenango | $1,342,607 | $271,094 | $1,613,702 |
| Cortland | $853,490 | $268,602 | $1,122,092 |
| Herkimer | $1,313,177 | $350,225 | $1,663,402 |
| Lewis | $641,008 | $147,804 | $788,812 |
| Madison | $1,099,213 | $3,500,000 | $4,599,213 |
| Oneida | $3,889,400 | $15,000,000 | $18,889,400 |
| Onondaga | $6,917,465 | $2,534,616 | $9,452,081 |
| Oswego | $2,555,608 | $660,729 | $3,216,338 |
| Otsego | $996,656 | $335,028 | $1,331,684 |
| Regional Total | $20,708,069 | $23,500,000 | $44,208,069 |
Eastern Southern Tier
| County | School Aid/Prop Tax | County Distribution | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broome | $2,948,759 | $2,607,068 | $5,555,827 |
| Chemung | $690,099 | $585,169 | $1,275,267 |
| Schuyler | $131,218 | $121,850 | $253,068 |
| Seneca | $611,090 | $464,720 | $1,075,810 |
| Tioga | $1,003,971 | $664,443 | $1,668,414 |
| Tompkins | $984,523 | $1,349,920 | $2,334,443 |
| Wayne | $882,550 | $611,830 | $1,494,381 |
| Host County*** | N/A | $6,405,000 | $6,405,000 |
| Regional Total | $7,252,210 | $12,810,000 | 20,062,210 |
Capital Region
| County | School Aid/Prop Tax | County Distribution | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albany | $2,725,425 | $3,345,284 | $6,070,709 |
| Fulton | $1,061,225 | $601,528 | $1,662,753 |
| Montgomery | $918,148 | $546,944 | $1,465,092 |
| Rensselaer | $2,053,954 | $1,750,482 | $3,804,436 |
| Saratoga | $2,205,678 | $2,432,758 | $4,638,436 |
| Schenectady | $1,962,914 | $1,698,888 | $3,661,802 |
| Schoharie | $594,481 | $351,542 | $946,023 |
| Washington | $1,130,710 | $689,241 | $1,819,951 |
| Host County*** | N/A | $11,416,667 | $11,416,667 |
| Regional Total | $12,652,535 | $22,833,333 | $35,485,868 |
Catskills/Hudson Valley
| County | School Aid/Prop Tax | County Distribution | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia | $662,052 | $786,600 | $1,448,652 |
| Delaware | $781,410 | $595,006 | $1,376,417 |
| Dutchess | $2,924,474 | $3,742,035 | $6,666,509 |
| Greene | $581,113 | $612,589 | $1,193,702 |
| Orange | $5,712,770 | $4,713,533 | $10,426,303 |
| Sullivan | $1,161,089 | $966,501 | $2,127,591 |
| Ulster | $2,002,697 | $2,287,985 | $4,290,682 |
| Putnam | $923,027 | N/A | $923,027 |
| Rockland | $2,057,300 | N/A | $2,057,300 |
| Westchester | $6,813,369 | N/A | $6,813,369 |
| Host County*** | N/A | $13,704,250 | $13,704,250 |
| Regional Total | $23,619,301 | $27,408,499 | $51,027,800 |
New York City
| County | School Aid/Prop Tax | County Distribution | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| NYC (5 Boroughs) | $94,359,256 | N/A | $94,359,256 |
| Regional Total | $94,359,256 | N/A | $94,359,256 |
Long Island
| County | School Aid/Prop Tax | County Distribution | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nassau | $9,737,054 | $17,200,000 | $26,937,054 |
| Suffolk | $19,155,916 | $17,200,000 | $36,355,916 |
| Regional Total | $28,892,970 | $34,400,000 | $63,292,970 |
The Host County would receive the listed amount, and the amount listed for that county in the “County Distribution” column would be distributed across remaining counties in the region.
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