Niagara Falls receives USD 4.9 M for hosting casinos

The quarter began in October and ended in December, 2014.

To date, Niagara Falls has received more than USD 38.1 million in non-tax gaming revenue.

“Municipalities are able to improve local programs and infrastructure with revenuefrom OLG gaming sites,” said Charles Sousa, Minister of Finance.

“In turn, revenue for the province support continued investment in important Ontario public services like health care and education.”

These payments are made under an equitable formula in the municipality contribution agreement that determines the fee municipalities receive for hosting an OLG gaming facility and are based on an escalating scale of gaming revenue that is consistent across all sites in Ontario.

At approximately USD 2 billion annually, OLG provides the Ontario government with its largest source of non-tax revenue.

“Modernization will help OLG provide more money to Ontario for hospitals and other government priorities,” says a press release from the OLG.

In 2014-15, the province will allocate USD 115 million in gaming revenue to support charities through the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

Every year, Ontario allocates funding to the province’s problem gambling program for research, treatment and prevention. The amount for 2014-15 is USD 39 million.

Before the most recent payment, Niagara Falls had already received USD 21,263,695 under the new agreement between the municipality and the OLG.

According to the report approved by city council in September 2014, USD 19,393,571 had already been committed to other initiatives and approximately USD 1.9 million remained in the reserve fund.

The remaining amount was used for 15 various projects, including USD 220,000 worth of 'preventative maintenance' on the Murray Hill pedestrian bridge, the purchase of a new street sweeper for USD 220,000, along with USD 200,000 in traffic signals.

The city has already budgeted USD 587,000 for the expansion of Millennium Trail, which will be paid for by the OLG funds.

Under the previous agreement, the city set aside USD 3 million annually for the operating budget in an effort to offset the annual tax levy.

This year, council voted in favor of using an additional USD 2.9 million after changes to the Niagara Region's tax policy, resulting in the property assessment of casino properties.

The amount used for tax relief accounts for 27.9 percent of the OLG reserve fund.

The city will spend USD 318,000 on its commitment to a new hospital at the Montrose and Lyons Creek intersection and has committed 49.4 percent of the OLG fund on capital investment as well as $250,000 on economic development projects.

The municipality also holds an agreement with the Niagara Regional Police Service and pays USD 4.2 million for policing near the casinos in Niagara Falls, which is approximately 20 percent of the fund.