Councilors play gambling card
Dennis L. Irish is betting that the Worcester City Council will back his
proposal to let voters decide whether the city should play host to casino
gambling. Mr. Irish, an at-large city councilor, held a press conference at
City Hall yesterday, accompanied by three colleagues - Gary Rosen, Philip P.
Palmieri and Joffrey Smith. Councilor Frederick C. Rushton could not attend,
but put his support in writing. Vowing to bring the matter to the council at
its meeting Tuesday, Mr. Irish said the city could reap $6 million to $24
million in gaming-related revenue. At the high end, he said, the city's
coming budget deficit would be erased. Even at the low end, he said,
critical teaching positions and other municipal jobs would be saved. The
councilors acknowledged that opponents will speak of immorality and
gambling's
human cost. But Mr. Rosen said he defines immorality in terms of oversized
classrooms, textbooks that are out of date and teachers forced to buy
classroom supplies with their own money. Mr. Irish said Rhode Island and
Connecticut reap $1.1 billion annually from Massachusetts visitors to their
gaming sites. Mr. Rosen said he has traveled to facilities in both states,
and noticed many Massachusetts license plates in the parking lots. "This is
a property tax relief measure, in my mind," Mr. Irish said. He added that
gaming has polled well in Massachusetts, and that state lawmakers are
largely in favor of gaming legislation that would turn over all revenues to
cities and towns. Mr. Irish noted that gambling revenue in Rhode Island has
surpassed that state's corporate tax as the third largest source of state
income, and that Rhode Island has gone 10 years without an income tax
increase. In addition, he said, South Dakota reduced property taxes by 20
percent thanks to slot machine revenues, and Pennsylvania is planning its
own gaming-related property tax reduction. The proposed nonbinding question,
which would appear on the November municipal election ballot, would read,
"Should legalized gaming be approved in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, I
support the siting of any such legalized gaming activities within the City
of Worcester." Mr. Rushton proposed a change in the wording, inserting the
word "possible" in front of the word "siting." "The manner, scope and type
of gaming should be carefully scrutinized," Mr. Rushton said in his
statement. "With gambling comes revenues, but also addiction and crime." Mr.
Irish will bring two other proposals before the council. One is the
following resolution: "Resolved, that in order to create additional revenue
for the commonwealth of Massachusetts which could be made available to towns
and cities for local aid and education thus providing property tax relief,
the Worcester City Council urges expansion of legalized gaming in the
commonwealth of Massachusetts."
The other would request the city administration to meet with the Governor's
Special Commission on Gaming as soon as possible and urge it to consider
Worcester as a gaming site pending voter approval of the nonbinding
resolution.
Mr. Irish has been down this road before. He and four other city councilors
advocated placing a nonbinding referendum question before Worcester voters
in 2003. At the time he was joined by then-Mayor Timothy P. Murray, District
4 Councilor Barbara G. Haller, District 5 Councilor Stephen G. Abraham and
District 3 Councilor Paul P. Clancy Jr.
Such a referendum question is required by state law as a prerequisite to the
siting of a casino in a community.
Mr. Irish said he has not yet discussed his current proposal with Mr.
Murray, who is now lieutenant governor, or with Mayor Konstantina B. Lukes
or City Manager Michael V. O'Brien.
In a candidate forum in West Boylston last month during his unsuccessful run
for the 14th Worcester House District seat, Mr. Palmieri said he did not
think casino gambling was the answer to that town's revenue woes.
At a City Council meeting last week, Mr. Palmieri proposed that the state
attach a 1-cent increase to the beer tax, which he says would generate about
$60 million in new revenue that could be sent out to the cities and towns.
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