From Harford County government:
County Executive Craig Testifies before State Work Group To Consider Gaming Expansion
The following is Harford County Executive David R. Craig’s testimony before the State’s Work Group to Consider Gaming Expansion on June 12, 2012:
Chairman Morton and Honorable Members of the Work Group,
Thank you for allowing me to testify before you today. I am here to respectfully ask that the work group c consider all options for gaming expansion, not just focusing on one license for one site, and to specifically ask that Harford County be looked at as a possible location for a license. Harford County voters supported the 2008 slots referendum by almost 2 to 1, and I am confident that given the potential benefits to county revenues, that they would be in favor of at the very least exploring the possibility of a casino in the county in one form or another.
In addition, I ask that the work group recommend that a special session not be held, in order to allow for a proper study of the state’s overall gaming strategy, and take up any action during the 2013 regular session. As Senate Bill 892 died an unceremonious death on Sine Die, I feel that it is appropriate to push the reset button and start from scratch, and to use the opportunity to give the issue a full and deliberate study, rather than trying to jam something through on the last day of session or in a Special Session lasting a couple of days. And as you all know, a Special Session does not have to be limited to the purported reason for calling the legislature back to the State House.
If your consideration of gaming in Harford County shows a beneficial outcome for the state, I ask that you recommend that the General Assembly consider legislation during the 2013 Regular Session that would allow for a statewide referendum to allow table games and to enable the Video Lottery Facility Location Commission to award a gaming license to Harford County. Furthermore, I feel strongly that the state legislation should specify that all of the Local Impact Grant revenue be allocated to Harford County Government, who then must appropriate 100% of those funds to the Harford County Board of Education.
I also advise the work group to carefully consider the idea that there may be other counties or contiguous groupings of counties in the state who would like the opportunity to recoup some of their losses from unfunded state mandates by asking their voters to approve gaming facilities in their jurisdictions. While it may not be realistic for every county in the state to have a casino, various counties could reach a revenue sharing agreement that allows multiple jurisdictions to share the costs and benefits.
Related to this, I ask that the work group and the legislature evaluate the fairness of allowing fraternal and veterans’ organizations in certain parts of the state to operate gaming machines, while those same organizations in other parts cannot. In my view, such organizations statewide should be allowed to operate a limited number of slot machines, not just those on the Eastern Shore.
Finally, I ask that the work group consider whether time deadlines should be attached to the enabling of certain jurisdictions to apply for a gaming license, in order to allow another jurisdiction to make a claim for a license that has otherwise gone unused.
Why am I making these requests?
The most recent session of the General Assembly and the Special Session that followed were particularly hard on Maryland’s counties. Long-term funding obligations were passed to us, most notably teacher pensions. At the full phase-in, Harford County will be obligated to allocate $10.3 million annually, which depending on whether the so-called offsets are still in place, results in a net liability of between $4 million and $8 million per year for us. While we are proud of our record of fiscal conservatism in past years which saw us achieve a AAA bond rating, you don’t just find $8 million by lifting up the couch cushions.
This new obligation has severely hampered our ability to provide additional funds for salary enhancements for teachers and to meet our long term capital needs for education. Although in the last seven years we have spent more than $300 million in county funds on school construction and renovation, the fact that the state has reimbursed us for less than one-quarter of that amount limits our ability to continue with needed improvements.
While I have never been a strong advocate of balancing the budget using gaming, but I do support the citizens deciding whether or not they want to have gaming in their counties in order to dedicate revenues to specific uses. In the case of Harford County, we would insist that the legislation and a referendum specify our county share as a new revenue stream totally dedicated to education.
I feel that other counties would also like to have this ability. Only allowing five or six jurisdictions to take advantage of this opportunity means that there are 18 or 19 counties that cannot. This is certainly not in keeping with the concept of “One Maryland.”
How would a casino in Harford County benefit the State and taxpayers?
A casino in Harford County would bring millions of dollars in new revenue to the state, and would provide additional dedicated funding for K-12 education in Harford County. It would also provide hundreds of additional jobs for the northeastern Maryland region.
Having two casinos within close proximity will turn the Upper Chesapeake region into a tourist destination, as the presence of two casinos and other attractions in the area will turn what would have been a “day trip” into a “weekend getaway.” Despite being only 27 miles away from the Hollywood Casino in Perryville, Delaware Park saw revenues rise slightly after the Perryvillle Casino opened. So you should not immediately dismiss the possibility of a casino in Harford County for fear of hurting Perryville without conducting a detailed analysis.
What really determines the success of a gaming facility is whether it is well-run and whether it offers something different than its competitors. Some casinos are adjacent to race tracks, while others offer various kinds of entertainment and fine dining. Given our location at the head of the Chesapeake Bay, I think it would be worthwhile to consider a riverboat casino for Harford County. Such casinos have been highly successful in towns and cities along the Mississippi River and on the Gulf Coast. A riverboat is also mobile, which means that it could even be shared with other areas of the state.
In summary, I ask that the work group not rush to judgment on an issue as important as this, and that the work group not exclude any jurisdiction in the state that wishes to be included in this process. I do not seek to derail the ambitions of any county or interest in this state; rather I am asking that all options be considered fully and deliberately. I maintain that an issue such as this is best left to be resolved during the regular session.
Thank you.
Why yes, the riverboat casino could be shared by other parts of the state. Provided they share the same body of navigable water. Come on Craig, the big money is in legalizing marijuana… just do it… I know you would love to benefit from other people’s lack of inhibitions.
First of all, Craig is an idiot. Secondly, he is not thinking of all the citizens of Harford County. The Riverboat Casino would naturally have to be in Havre de Grace so I’m sure some of the $$ would be diverted to his beloved hometown. This guy needs to spend some time at Sheppard Pratt.
First of all, Purple is the idiot, not Craig. Secondly, he is thinking like a businessman, not the typical left wing politician like most people on here. He is trying to bring the income to Harford County so we can all benefit from it. As it stands now, the rich counties are the ones who are getting richer from casinos. The only time that he needs to spend at Sheppard Pratt is vistiting the mental midgets like Purple.
I understand Harford County isn’t exactly the ritziest place in the county, but a riverboat casino really just screams white trash to me.
Please no.
Redneck cruises departing daily from exotic locales around HarCo. Gamble and drink away your hard earned money and then spend an hour shooting the glass bottle empties from the rear of our ‘yacht’.
Harford County has missed it’s window of opportunity. Another casino would saturate the market in the Cecil/Harford County area. The fallout would cheapen the whole environment even more by attracting and saturating the area with displaced losers stuck up and down Rt 40 in cheap motels.
They should’ve worked with Cordish’s early offer. They could’ve modified the location or changed it to some other area of Harford County but, they attacked Cordish as opposed to partnering with him, other developers, and business owners in an effort to revitalize Edgewood.
Therefore, you got to keep the crime ridden section 8 overrun area instead of building developing your way out of it.
I think it sounds very interesting. Of course HdG would profit from the location which in the long run benefits ALL of Harford County.
By the way, the Susquehanna flows directly into the Chesapeake Bay and thus there is the ability to travel to many other locales with money still coming back to its home-base pier in Harford County.
We could be the first on the Bay!!
Is anyone taking Craig’s ludicrous proposal seriously? He is just saying this to cover his inability to run a fiscally sound county.
I don’t care much for most liberals’ comments but yours are the most stupid to date.
ENGINEER: …and yours are the most devoid of thought. Try saying something intelligent instead of using the tired old ad hominem arguments your tea party is fond of.
Hey Proud,
Are you seriously going to complain about someone using ad hominem arguments when you did the same to Alex R in another thread less than an hour ago?
Hello Pot, this is Kettle!
Anyways, have a nice day.
Thanks, Paul. Proud and I go back a long way. His political party of choice has been raising the sales tax and gas tax and other fees that my family has to pay every day because they think that we don’t grasp the concept of regressive taxation. They also think we are too poor and too stupid to get and keep a job and make our way in this land of opportunity. I invited him to come to the graduation ceremony when I got my first advanced degree (which I paid for without a student loan or discount) but he replied that he was too busy and didn’t like watermelon or tacos or kimchi much because he doesn’t know if I’m black or Hispanic or Asian. My family came to this country because they wanted to escape one kind of enslavement and they don’t intend to be subject to his kind of enslavement here.
You have a nice day as well.
PTBL, you have the same reply to everyone which is an ad nauseum crock of crap.
Monster: Do you even know what the term ad nauseum means? I’ll give you an example: “PTBL. You are a jackass.”
Posted by monster
Proud To Be Liberal:
When the CE took office, Harford County had a double A credit rating. Today, Harford County has a triple A rating, saving the tax payers millions of dollars in the bond market. When Obama took office, the USA had a triple A credit rating. Today, the USA has a double A rating, costing the tax payers millions of dollars. How’s that?
Ask the Republican Congress who refused to raise the debt ceiling. The GOP/Tea Party will do ANYTHING to harm Obama no matter how bad it is for the country. Our only hope is to vote the Tea Party out of office so we can get something done.
The Republican Congress refused to raise the debt ceiling? Really? Good for them. Finally someone has enough chutzpah to tell the Dem/Libs enough is enough.
PTBL. You are a jackass.
PTBL, you prove my point over and over with your uninformed and bias blogs- hence, ad nauseum. You really are slow aren’t you.
And Monster you prove my point that you are only capable of calling names and incapable of a cogent thought.
PTBL, AND YOU PROVE THAT YOU ARE A STUPID A_ _. Why don’t you write us all a treatise on why Europe is having tremendous problems.
Monster: That is easy: Europe is having all its problems because the people refuse to pay taxes. They are a bunch of tax cheats. With no revenue, a government can’t run. Sound familiar?
Fiscally sound as compared to who? Greece? Spain? Italy? Obama? O’Malley? Stephanie Rawlings-Blake? Paragons of fiscal rectitude each and all.
Well, I would hope the teachers and the HCEA are taking it seriously because they would benefit from it most and I have just listened to months of passionate pleas for more money for education and especially for teacher remuneration. Or do they only want more money if they can dictate where it comes from? This issue is telling me a lot about the HCEA and its members.
When I fly into St. Louis I can see the Riverboat Casinos below on the Mississippi River. They do a booming business. I think this is a great idea.
Finally a good use for the Lantern Queen
So, when did King David the ass ever ask the residents of HdG if they wanted more traffic..and a riverboat casino? Wasn’t the whole purpose of bringing slots into MD ti fund public education in the STATE? See any of the articles on education in Harford Co. lately….teachers are fighting with Craig (who funded NOTHING) and with the local board and they received bread crumbs to shut them up. Craig is a liar.
A floating casino sounds like a good idea on paper and of course it would have to be out of Havre de Grace. But if you’ve seen the parking situation at Tydings Park, it may not be feasible. Just with the free summer concerts there draw can draw so many people, I’ve seen cars parked all up and down Union Avenue and in the little side streets. I can hear the complaints now coming from all over the city. I guess time will tell.
Well I am again amuzed by how harsh people are about other’s opinions. If you disagree, just say you disagree and argue intelligently. You make yourself devoid of intelligence when it is a hate comment.
There are so many problems facing this country today. First of which is unemployment, housing market, and crime. Bringing more income to the county is bad? No, it is another thing we will have to monitor. It is amazing that everyone is the first to concern themselves with the conservative model from their home, but why are you standing on the street corner feeding the masses, fighting crime, promoting jobs, and housing? If you sit behind the computer and don’t have to make decisions that not everyone is going to be happy with, then do just that….sit there and keep your opinion to yourselves. I will be happy to discuss pros and cons, but will not agrue the politics of it all.