BERLIN – Officials decided to dedicate casino revenue to a pension fund for police, a new community center and ambulance costs.
The Berlin Town Council on Tuesday voted 4-1 to approve a multi-year plan for the town’s annual share of casino revenue.
“Since the inception of the Local Impact Grant (LIG) the town has utilized grant funding for public safety and intends to continue to prioritize public safety spending over the next three fiscal years,” Mayor Zack Tyndall said. “The primary public safety expenditure will be the Law Enforcement Officers Pension System.”
In years past, the town used its annual casino grant to pay for its new police station. With that now paid off, the Local Development Council (LDC), which reviews jurisdictions’ use of casino revenue, asked the town for a new multi-year spending plan. While municipal officials made the decision in early 2023 to fund LEOPS with casino revenue, this week they discussed the specifics of casino revenue allocations. Tyndall said the town was projecting annual LIG revenue of $420,000 going forward, though the figure has occasionally been higher. With what was left over in casino revenue, the town should have $1,694,569 in LIG funding for fiscal year 2024-2026. Because LEOPS is only projected to cost $1,475,000 during that time period ($340,000 in FY 24, $350,000 in FY 25 and $360,000 in FY 26 and $425,000 in a LEOPS stabilization fund), there will be unassigned LIG funding of about $219,000.
Councilwoman Shaneka Nichols suggested it be put toward the community center town officials have talked about for years.
“I feel this funds fit and align with the community center concept,” Nichols said.
Councilman Jack Orris said he thought the council had discussed eventually phasing out casino revenue as the sole funding source for LEOPS.
“We want to phase it out. This is phasing it up,” he said of the projections in the multi-year plan.
His peers agreed they had expressed a desire to see the general fund gradually take on some of the LEOPS expense. Councilman Jay Knerr said that police retirement had been a line item in the department’s budget. Because retirement will now be within the LEOPS line item, which will be funded with casino revenue, there will be some extra funding in what was once the retirement line item of the police department’s budget. Knerr suggested that extra be diverted toward LEOPS so a portion of the casino revenue could be freed up for other projects.
“What I’m saying is it’s already built into payroll, a portion of it,” Knerr said.
Councilman Steve Green, who brought up the issue of decreasing the amount of casino revenue used for LEOPS at the last meeting, said he still supported that concept.
“We have to be big boys and girls here at some point and realize we have committed to this as an organization, to support LEOPS,” he said.
He said he knew there wasn’t a ready source of funding but thought the town could transition away from the casino revenue as the pension’s sole funding source gradually.
“We will have some tough decisions to make I acknowledge that,” Green said. “I just feel like it’s a more professional perspective to take on that expense.”
He said he supported using extra revenue for the community center.
“I would like to see it spread a little bit more but the community center obviously is a need,” he said. “I’d like to see that community center committee get moving.”
Tyndall said it would be meeting going forward.
To Knerr’s suggestion, Finance Director Natalie Saleh said the funding would be coming from the general fund either way.
“The other point is, every year we have to fill out a form,” Tyndall said. “It takes a little time to go though. Simplicity is a good thing in being able to track how the money’s being spent and for the reporting side for the finance department.”
He added that if anyone doubted the town’s commitment to public safety, he wanted to point out that about 30% of general fund expenses were associated with public safety.
Knerr said he too supported using some of the extra casino revenue for the community center but that he’d also like to give $45,000 to the fire company for ambulance costs.
Councilman Jack Orris said he was concerned that the town’s LEOPS stabilization fund, which is meant to cover LEOPS costs if there’s ever a shortage in revenue, was being funded with the same revenue stream LEOPS was being funded.
“The idea in my head was that we would use some of the LDC funds for LEOPS but then the stabilization fund I don’t think should come from the same source… in the event of God forbid something happen where the casino is shut down or we don’t get the revenue,” he said.
The council voted 4-1, with Orris opposed, to draft a multi-year plan outlining LEOPS, the community center and ambulance funding as the uses for casino revenue.
“We’ll submit that to the LDC for their review and then I think they have 45 days to meet,” he said.
The council then voted unanimously to set up a LEOPS stabilization account. Tyndall noted it would primarily be funded with the town’s current leftover casino revenues.