As guided by the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming Act signed into law in 2004, each year Dauphin County is tasked with the responsibility of distributing millions of dollars in shared revenue from Hollywood Casino in Grantville--2% of the casino's gross revenue goes to Dauphin County and another 2% goes to municipalities within the County based on a process of application and criteria. As outlined in the Act, gaming grants are intended to fund human services; infrastructure & facilities improvement; transportation; emergency services, health, & public safety; and public interest initiatives. Local governments as well as non-profit organizations are invited to apply.
In accordance with the process of distributing these restricted Local Share Gaming Funds, a Commissioner-appointed Gaming Advisory Committee is formed. It is the Gaming Advisory Committee who collects and reviews gaming grant applications and then develops a list of municipalities and organizations that should be granted funds. Once the Committee establishes its recommendations, it presents the list to the Dauphin County Commissioners for consideration and vote.
Currently, the Committee is comprised of James Szymborski, Justin Warren, David Craig, Matthew Tunnell, and Will Gordon. A contracted advisor, Mike Musser and solicitor Mark Stewart of Eckert Seamans are also part of the Committee's process of recommendation.
For the 2012-2013 the Gaming Advisory Committee reviewed and interviewed 68 applicants and narrowed the recommended list down to 26 local governments and organizations for a total of $6,749, 335 in grants.
Notable recommended awardees included the City of Harrisburg--$409,000 for 10 new police patrol vehicles. Harrisburg Area Community College--$250,000 for the Public Safety Center expansion. Capital Area Greenbelt Association--$50,000 for Greenbelt expansion. Multiple municipalities were recommended funds for infrastructure improvements.
An additional 23 entities made the "Recommended Optional Funding" list for a total of $1,706,700, which Dauphin County Commissioners can choose to allocate from a separate, discretionary pool of funds known as Unrestricted Gaming Funds. This is a practice commonly done in the past.
The Gaming Advisory Committee passed its recommendations on January 22nd. These will be formally and publicly presented to Dauphin County Commissioners on February 6th. A vote is expected by the end of February.
Videos:
Solicitor Mark Stewart: "The casino generally had, overall, a down year compared to 2011."
The Board: Deliberating & voting on the recommendations
Lists of recommendations:
Host and contiguous award recommendations
Municipal and organization award recommendations Part I
Municipal and organization award recommendations Part II
Optional award recommendations
by Tara Leo Auchey