I think Albany has money sniffing dogs out combing the state going into towns, villages, cities trying to see where anyone is generating revenue so they can pounce on it and take it away for any reason they see fit.

if the revenue is taken away, the burden would fall, ultimately, on the property tax payer.

They don’t care, haven’t they figured this out yet? Any revenue made in New York state is the property of Albany and it’s fat cats. Just ask them and they’ll tell you. Well you’ll have to listen real closely and then read between the lines, they don’t speak normal english there, they speak corrupted english.

Officials will fight state plan to take away VLT revenue

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Local officials vowed Wednesday to fight a proposal that would take revenue from local video lottery terminals for use by the state.

“I have a problem, as an elected official in our city, with losing revenue we’re entitled to just because of the inefficiencies at the state,” Saratoga Springs Mayor Scott Johnson said, calling the revenue “vitally important” in balancing the city’s budget.

Under a plan unveiled this week by Gov. Eliot Spitzer, the city and county’s take of video lottery terminal revenue this year would remain consistent with the amount provided in 2007. Saratoga Springs received $3.8 million, while Saratoga County received $1.3 million.

For 2008, the city’s operating budget is roughly $37 million, and the county’s is $231 million. Each has budgeted for the amounts that are to be given this year under the proposal.
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But the gambling revenue — generated by about 1,700 video lottery terminals at Saratoga Gaming & Raceway on Crescent Avenue — would be cut in half the following year.

A reimbursement formula, in which local governments would have to report expenses associated with hosting the gambling site, would be put in place in 2010.

Under the reimbursement program, money would be delivered based on reported expenses, like police and ambulance calls, that are associated with hosting the gambling site.

The formula would also take into account the facility’s positive impact on the area, including increased sales and property taxes.

“We’re trying to reform this program so it better reflects the intended purpose of it,” said Matt Anderson, a spokesman for the governor’s office. “We want to look at the real cost of running this, set against the benefits.”

The expense reports from local officials would be subject to audit by the state comptroller.

Johnson said using such a formula doesn’t take into account impacts on the city that can’t be reduced to fiduciary terms.

“There’s a social impact that’s intangible, but very present in our community,” the newly elected Republican said.

And Saratoga County Administrator David Wickerham said delineating how much the county spends on gamblers, who may end up in the court system or needing mental health assistance, would be difficult.

“It’s not like people come in with a sign on their neck that says ‘I’m a compulsive gambler because of the racino,’ ” he said. “These things are hard to detect.”

Wickerham said if the revenue is taken away, the burden would fall, ultimately, on the property tax payer.

In 2006, similar efforts by the governor to seize the money from local coffers were rebuffed by the Senate and Assembly, both of which were heavily lobbied by local officials.

The governor’s office would not guarantee the gambling revenue stream earlier this year because of a projected state budget gap, now pegged at $4 billion.

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