……….It soon will be the 30th anniversary of the Racetrack Video Lottery Act and as one of the sponsors of the legislation, I never dreamed the distribution of the funds locally would result in a North/South war or in a County vs. Cities altercation. The intent to give 2 % to the County was based on the fact that the track didn’t have either a police force or fire department. Ted Arneault, who carried Mountaineer’s water throughout the session, urged the Commissioners to dedicate the money to infrastructure because he thought that was the key to economic development. That didn’t happen and here we are 30 years later in the middle of a legislative session where that 2% has turned cities in the north of the county against the city in the south. It has also pitted the County against the cities and Hancock County just released their budget cuts to make up a $2.1 million deficit due to the loss of the funds.
……….Who’d have thought those machines would still be the focus of the legislature and the county 30 years later? The video lottery story is not only about what was involved in passing the legislation, the first of such in the United States, but there was a whole back story of deals and players whose stories were never told. That story is going to be told in its entirety in a book which will debut in the year of the 30th anniversary co-authored by former Mountaineer President & CEO Ted Arneault and the co-sponsor of the legislation …former Del. Tamara Pettit.
…….HB 3012 has been introduced by 2nd District Delegate Mark Zatezalo. Weirton was left out of the 1% distribution of racetrack video lottery revenue in the bill, also sponsored by Zatezalo, which passed in 2023 and stipulated that the municipality must be “wholly contained” in the County. That left Weirton without any video lottery money wondering why the delegate who represented them would let that happen. The problem New Cumberland and Chester now have with HB 3012 is that it doesn’t divide equally the 1%, but divides the money per capita meaning Weirton would receive the majority of the money, Chester with a population of 2,300 much less and New Cumberland who dropped below 1,000 in the last census, a drastic drop in funding.
……..SB 513 is sponsored by 1st District Sen. Ryan Weld and it distributes the 1% on a “per capita” basis. It’s on the agenda in the Government Organization Committee Monday morning and should pass out (a bill is not generally put on a Committee agenda if the votes are not there to pass it out of committee) That means it should pass through the Senate by Friday and next week be in the House where I anticipate Del. Pat McGeehan will make every attempt to amend out the “per capita” language. McGeehan’s district consists of Chester and New Cumberland who will lose revenue if the per capita language is kept intact.
……….As majority leader, McGeehan is in a position to keep the bill on the House inactive calendar if the language is not amended out of the bill. That means the SB dies and the existing code stands with no allocation for Weirton. I expect Weirton officials to be in Charleston lobbying for the Senate Bill. I would recommend that both New Cumberland and Chester officials consider a trip to Charleston to do the same. If the bill passes those two small communities will be the losers.
………The impact of the 2023 bill which took the County’s 2% down to 1% was seen this week when the County released a budget that reflected a $2.1 million reduction. When the bill passed in 2023 taking the 1% from the County, Del. Zatezalo promised the Commission would be “made whole.” That did not happen and last year’s budget’s deficit was met by use of the Rainy Day Fund. The auditors were clear this year that the intent of the Rainy Day Fund is for a catastrophic occurrence, not to meet payroll.
……..The budget reduces the Sheriff’s Office by 30% and Sheriff Scott Gittings should be introducing his plan to put those reductions in place. Whether the reduction will mean fewer cruisers with the deputies no longer taking home their cruiser; placing the responsibility for funding the police resource officers in the schools to the Board of Education; to laying off deputies or the security officers who screen visitors to the Courthouse remains to be seen. The Commissioners researched Sheriffs’ office funding in all 55 counties in West Virginia before arriving at the reduction percentage. The Commission office itself, will take a 13% reduction with all other departments taking a 2-3% reduction.
……..The one community that appears to lose regardless is Newell. Since they are not incorporated they received no money from the 1% split. They have always relied upon the Sheriff’s office to provide law enforcement for the area. A strong community of volunteers have provided activities and kept the playground and Laurel Hollow Park in good shape. The Commission has assisted with grass cutting and maintenance, but I fear that may be reduced or go away completely.
