Guest MINDSETTER™ Dean Lees Jr.: Just Say No to Expanding Twin River
Saturday, October 06, 2012
Lincoln will soon be facing a financial crisis if they do not heed the warning signs of the gambling referendum that will be before them this November’s election! It is with great urgency that Lincoln voters understand the ramifications of this referendum and the public officials that have brought this undue stress before them.
In reading the Valley Breeze a couple of weeks ago, I found certain comments from some of our state legislatures of extreme concern to me. In the Representative races, House Representatives have been quoted as saying, "my obligation and my fiduciary responsibility" that the legislation "provide the best outcome for the town should it pass” and “Lincoln’s 7 million dollar gaming revenue share will be protected.”
So I ask, what is that outcome? Has anyone asked? Does anyone know what will happen to the Town if the Referendum was to pass? Has anyone found it odd that the same Town Council that proposed the gambling question is the same council that voted against it in 2007?
On October 4, the Town Council will have what they call an “informational hearing” on the expansion plans of Twin River. I question the sincerity and validity of this meeting due to the fact the Town Council voted to put the gambling referendum on the ballot last year, with no informational hearing or plan proposed by Twin River! This is like booking a cruise and receiving a brochure in the mail when you return as to what the vacation will entail. Lincoln has rules/policies for handling such issues that our officials have failed to comply with.
Lincoln’s Comprehensive Plan under the Economic Development Element states that, “Any future use of this site (Twin River) shall decrease, not maintain or increase, the current impacts that the existing video gambling and wagering facility has on surrounding residential areas.” The Comprehensive Plan is designed to provide a basis for rational decision-making regarding the long-term physical development of the municipality. The definition of goals and policies relative to the distribution of future land uses, both public and private, forms the basis for land use decisions to guide the overall physical, economic, and social development of the municipality (Rhode Island General Laws, 45-22.2-5).
Further, all municipal land use decisions shall be in conformance with the locally-adopted municipal comprehensive plan (R.I.G.L. 45-22.2-13 Compliance and Implementation). Due to the seriousness of this issue, any discussion falls within the jurisdiction of the Area of Planning and Concern Committee.
This committee, which the Administrator sits on, is charged with having public hearings where issues, such as Twin River, can be heard and discussed when a greater impact on the community as a whole, or the immediate surrounding neighborhoods, if left to private development or redevelopment (Lincoln Town Code 260-44). As astonishing as this, the committee never had a meeting; Twin River never submitted a plan for review prior to the council asking for a gambling referendum question.
It is crucial for Lincoln voters to understand what is going to happen if Lincoln voters approve the gambling question: It will not offer any new gambling revenue for the people of Lincoln. In fact, Lincoln was completely written out of receiving any table game revenue whatsoever, putting the Town of Lincoln into an awful position in having to compete with the State for gambling revenue. While Lincoln would still receive its 1.5 % of the Video Lottery Terminals, those machines will be competing with table game and other forms of Class 3 gambling. Is this a good deal for the voters of Lincoln?
In addition, our House Representatives also stated that “four years of the slippage provision will provide increases to the town it would not ordinarily have, which can "smooth" the transition.”. Transition to what?
This slippage clause in the statute would offer Lincoln residents up to 1% of table game revenue for just four years if Lincoln were to be faced with a shortfall. This statement shows that Lincoln would, in fact, be facing a financial crisis in just 4 years’ time. This slippage clause is nothing more than a confusing bait and switch scheme of receiving gambling revenue short term and a promise of a tax increase to come.
Understanding that, Lincoln’s very own budgetary process is presented each year with a 5-year outlook as to what to expect both for revenues and expenditures. How is Lincoln to overcome this hurdle? Why would our local and Lincoln state officials put us in this awful position?
In the past, Lincoln voters voted time after time in rejecting gambling in Lincoln. As recently as 2007, voters rejected it by 60% town wide with 68% rejecting in Saylesville and 71% in Lime Rock. With this mandate, the Lincoln Town Council sent resolution 07-44 to the General Assembly proposed by our current council president, stating that gambling would effect on both the immediate neighborhood surrounding this facility as well as the entire town, further stating that they were opposed to any expansion of gambling.
This was approved by the council in a 5-0 vote! Just because Massachusetts might develop casinos is not a reason to cause undue harm against Lincoln’s neighborhoods as the council President had stated in his own resolution. At the time of this resolution, Massachusetts was considering casinos however that did not stop Councilman Macksoud from stating he was opposed to any increase in the types of gambling allowed at Twin River.
When the last gambling referendum took place, our Town Administrator had also opposed expanded hours of operation and further stated that he felt bound by the referendum (of no increase of gambling) and opposed the increase of Twin River hours of operations/
It is important for Lincoln’s voters not to be intimidated. For years, state and local officials have said that we may lose revenue to other states and that we need to compete. With Foxwoods facing an over 2.3 billion dollar deficit, Mohegan Sun laying off 346 employees and Vegas Casinos in the red, these only show me that gambling is not the answer to compete with other states, nor to put false hopes on increasing our revenues to manage our ever-failing economy.
In the end, regardless of peoples’ views on gambling, our public officials have failed miserably in listening to the Lincoln voter’s wishes and have put Lincoln on a course of financial instability. However there is a silver lining…RI State law gives the sole power to Lincoln and Newport residents with the final say as to whether full gambling is to be allowed.
With this understanding, why would state officials write Lincoln and Newport out of receiving new gambling revenue when, in fact, they need their votes for approval? Therefore, as the election fast approaches, send a strong message at the ballot box that Lincoln voters will not be taken advantage of nor played for fools when it comes to their financial stability.
Dean Lees Jr. is a former Lincoln Town Council President.
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Comments:
David Beagle
9:29am on Saturday, October 06, 2012
If I were a Lincoln resident I'd be more concerned with the union influenced general assembly finding one way or another to ram this expansion thing through REGARDLESS of what the residents vote. The need for more and more revenue will probably force drastic measures. Will democrats allow ONE small town to get the way of their special interets?
Russ Hryzan
12:41pm on Saturday, October 06, 2012
This is about sustaining current revenue and increasing jobs. If you don't try to grow faster than the economy will allow, then you won't end up billions of dollars in debt.
We have a couple choices: sustain the revenue so we can provide some of the highest amounts of social welfare services and provide public sector employees some of the best benefits in the country, or we cut the social programs and employee count & benefits. That's where most of the money is going. The voters have a choice (and frankly I'm ok with either choice), but lets not pretend for a minute that this is about turning Twin River into a Foxwoods-sized venue; this is about survival of that facility and the jobs it provides to the area in the face of looming MA competition.
Michael Napolitano
11:24pm on Saturday, October 06, 2012
Dean Lees you once again show your ignorance just like you do at our Lincoln Financial Town Meetings every year where your comments always draw a sea of boos from the taxpayers! In fact, you usually follow up by insulting the Town Council and/or the Town Administrator.
Of course Mr. Lees if this issue was so important to you, perhaps you should have come to the hearing in front of the Town Council on Thursday night and voiced your concerns. That was the purpose of the meeting. You were not in attendance.
Perhaps if you noticed that in the parking lot of Twin River, roughly 50% of the cars are from Massachusetts. You clearly have not done your homework because it isn’t the case that “Massachusetts might have casinos” as you state. Massachusetts voters have already said YES to casinos. Also the MA legislature passed H.3807 permitting 3 casinos and one slots-only casino in the state and the Governor signed it. Once again you make statements that are just wrong. Casinos in Massachusetts will be a problem for Twin River and if you can’t understand that you should take a business course.
The town of Lincoln receives roughly $10 million annually from Twin River and that revenue is now in jeopardy. Table games will bring more people to Twin River in the short run and it is estimated that slot revenue will increase by 3%. In the long run once casinos are up in Massachusetts Twin River could lose revenue, especially if it can’t compete. Twin River also pays roughly 61% to the state of RI which is the highest amount taken from a gaming establishment in the US. It seems to me that both the state and the town are doing very well. When Massachusetts opens their casinos Twin River must be competitive. They need table games in order to do that.
You also make a statement that this will harm Lincoln’s neighborhoods. This statement is just ludicrous! Twin River has around 4500 slots as well electronic table games and the neighborhoods have been fine. Twin River even pays for multiple police and fire details. In addition roughly 100 Lincoln residents are employed at Twin River.
In case you haven’t looked RI needs jobs badly as we are ranked 2nd for unemployment. Table games will add hundreds of new jobs as they are labor intensive. This also means more jobs for Lincoln residents.
Yes Mr. Lees you continue to grandstand and make statements that never fully examine the facts. Perhaps if you attended the meeting you would have understood all of the issues instead of doing your usual grandstanding without all the facts.
Michael Napolitano
Lincoln Republican Town Committee Chairman