3/12/2025
In recent weeks there has been a flurry of activity regarding video lottery proceeds from Mountaineer Casino that currently benefit Hancock County, the City of New Cumberland and the City of Chester. Hancock County receives 1% and the two municipalities bordering Mountaineer Casino receive 0.5% each. Typically, in West Virginia, the municipality in which the casino resides would receive 1% and the county it resides in would receive 1%. The situation where multiple municipalities split the 1% is unique to Hancock County. Senate Bill 513 changes how those proceeds are allocated. In this case, the proceeds would be split amongst all of the municipalities in Hancock. However, this would not be an equal split. This bill and House Bill 3012 both propose that the proceeds be split on a per capita basis. Since the City of Weirton is by far the largest of the three municipalities by a large margin, the City of Weirton stands to gain a large majority of the money. Chester and New Cumberland’s share would be cut tremendously.
The City of Chester does not believe that this split is equitable. In the event of an emergency, such as a fire, the City of Chester and the Chester Volunteer Fire Department would be the first to respond. Chester Police are also called regularly to intervene as Mountaineer has no police force. This isn’t to say that others would not respond but Chester and also New Cumberland are closest, and the majority of the time would be the responding party along with the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department. I do not recall a time in which Weirton was the primary responder. In addition, many people who work at Mountaineer during racing season are part-time or casual residents from all across the USA who reside in New Cumberland and Chester, again because they are closest. Chester and New Cumberland do expend resources accommodating those folks as well.
The City of Chester feels that if a majority of the video lottery proceeds are to be distributed to the municipalities of Hancock County, the distribution should reflect more on the effect of the casino on those municipalities and not how many people reside in the municipality itself. The City of Chester does not deny the notion that the proceeds should be split, but the methodology should be equitable . If not, the split should remain between Chester and New Cumberland.
The City of Chester also expresses its dismay that the authors of Senate Bill 513 were Senators that also represent the City of Chester. As of this writing, the City of Chester has not received any notification from Senator Ryan Weld or Senator Laura Wakim Chapman. The City feels that decisions and legislation that affect the City of Chester negatively should at least be discussed with the City and preferably before the legislation is registered. House Bill 3012 was authored by Delegate Mark Zatezalo (predictably representing the City of Weirton) and was signed by Delegate Pat McGeehan, who has given his word that this was done by mistake and vowed to rectify the situation. Delegate McGeehan has been a friend to Chester and has helped Chester in many ways over the past few years. As mayor, I trust Delegate McGeehan at his word.
The City of Chester has experienced a lot of progress over the past few years. Increasing revenue has been a big reason for that progress for a town that has long been neglected by all levels of government until recently. The City will aggressively defend our revenue streams, especially when the threat is unjust. The City of Chester deserves its time in the sun so to speak, let us continue to progress forward, not backward.
Ed Wedgewood
Mayor
