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Language for $500,000 racino payment within Ohio Senate approved state budget
By ROBERT CONNELLY
AUSTINTOWN
The Ohio Senate approved a $71.3 biennial budget Thursday that included language for the $500,000 racino payments going to six eligible communities, including Austintown Township.
That payment, however, would be for only two years, with half the money coming from the state’s track-relocation fund and the other half from the racino operator that owns the facility in each community.
Penn National Gaming, Inc. will pay $150 million over 10 years into that track-relocation fund for moving tracks from Toledo to Dayton and Grove City, Ohio, to Austintown.
Last December, Republican Gov. John Kasich line-vetoed language that would have brought $500,000 annually for three years to Dayton and Austintown, with the same funding split as the current amendment. Kasich wanted six racino-hosting communities in Ohio to receive funds, paid for by the operator with no state funds used.
“I guess some is better than none,” said Nan Whaley, mayor of Dayton. “The governor’s office has been pretty nonresponsive” to attempts to talk about the issue, Whaley said.
Whaley said her hope is “pretty much at an all-time low because of local government fund cuts” and other cuts enacted by the legislature and “nothing really surprises me anymore with their actions.”
Dayton had planned for the $500,000 racino payment in its budget this year, but the funds still have not arrived.
“I don’t have any delusion that [Kasich] would pass this,” Whaley said. “I hope it’s not [vetoed], but it’s not like Columbus shares with me their thoughts.”
Ohio Senate Minority Leader Joe Schiavoni of Boardman, D-33rd, said of a veto: “It’s definitely a concern and one that is reasonable ... it’s different this time because there’s six communities this time instead of two.”
He further said, “I think that power in numbers will be powerful.”
Schiavoni had submitted a proposal for annual payments, but that was not accepted.
“It’s a lower compromise than most of the racino host communities would like, but at this point it will cover a lot of the expenses that most of the communities had getting the racinos into their communities,” said Ken Carano, an Austintown Township trustee.
The budget now goes into a conference committee and from there it is decided what will stay in the budget.
“I think the people that are conservative ones are the ones backing this particular line item in the budget,” Carano said. “Those that have a stronger connection with each of the host communities were obviously looking for something more than this.”
Schiavoni said he had not talked much to Ohio House of Representative members or officials from the governor’s office recently. “I really have been focusing on making sure the Senate was on board,” Schiavoni said. “I mean this is as reasonable as it gets.”