Gaming Revenue Meeting

How to spend the gaming revenue from Presque Isle Downs has been an issue since before the casino was even standing. The county has held several hearings to give organizations a chance to state their case for funds, but council hasn't come to any final conclusions yet. Thursday night was the 4th and final public hearing on how gaming revenue should be distributed. It was held at Union City High School. More than 120 people showed up from various organizations to pitch an idea why their groups should see some of the $11 million revenue from the Presque Isle Downs. Council says they will try to optimize their dollars by giving to organizations that can get local and state matches. County Executive Mark Divecchio adds they need to make sure that whoever gets the money is going to make an impact and they won’t need the funds every year because there’s no guarantee the casino will be here forever. The County Executive is hoping to get the Erie Community Foundation involved to help sift through the process and make recommendations but council will have the final decision. There is no set timetable but council members said they hope to finish the plan before budget season in the fall.