WMass city councilor implores Healey to keep gaming mitigation spigot flowing
SPRINGFIELD — A city councilor is imploring Gov. Maura Healey to keep gaming mitigation money flowing to cities and towns in Western Massachusetts.
The mitigation fund is for communities that must grapple with the ripple effects of legalized gambling, like increased need for fire protection, EMS services and police patrols. It's been paid for by casinos .
The fund — which has awarded $56.7 million since 2015 — is zeroing out its budget and coffers, with the revenue from casinos now being directed to other areas of government need.
The casinos, such as MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor , have covered the cost of urban renewal, community beautification and life-saving equipment for first responders.
In Springfield, an annual disbursement from the fund paid for a defibrillator for the Fire Department, for example.
Sean Curran, a Springfield city councilor, on Wednesday wrote to the governor, asking for the state to cover this loss for the city, to the tune of about $3 million annually.
Curran said in a statement that the money could be added to an upcoming supplemental budget.
"As it currently stands, the commonwealth has $8 billion in its rainy-day fund, with the current fiscal climate, now is exactly the right time to access those funds and restore the casino mitigation fund matching the original intent of the 2011 legislation," Curran wrote.
He pointed out to the governor that the entire region benefits from the aid: Holyoke Community College, Springfield Technical Community College, and Springfield Public Schools used the fund to support regional workforce development; it sustains the Hampden County Sheriff's Department Western Massachusetts Recovery and Wellness Center; the Hampden District Attorney's Office receives funding for public safety efforts; and West Springfield, Chicopee, Longmeadow and Northampton spend the money on infrastructure, safety, and marketing programs to boost the local economy.
"Without restoration of the mitigation funds, Springfield and its regional partners will struggle to maintain public safety capacity, infrastructure upkeep, workforce programming, and community revitalization efforts tied to the casino's presence," the councilor wrote.
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