MONTICELLO – A casino
resort opened in February of this year, so it is not surprising that there
was a significant increase in room tax revenue, from about $288,000 for
the first seven months of 2017, to over $439,000 for the same period this
year. The biggest jump, by percentage, was room tax.
County Treasurer Nancy Buck said the biggest gain, by dollars, was in
sales tax, the county’s largest non-property tax revenue.
“Accumulatively, for the year, from last year, we’re up $3.3
million,” Buck told the county legislature’s Management and
Budget Committee.
The one number not up to expectations was gaming revenue, from Resorts
World Catskill.
Payment so far this year is about $750,500, putting the county on track
to take in only $2 million. The initial expectation was $13 million for
all of this year.
Committee Chairman Scott Samuelson said there are factors that are keeping
the number down.
“We’re all rushing to judgment on the casino,” Samuelson
said. “I think that we should let them do their job. I think it’s
doing everything for the community that we hoped it would do. It is spurring
on economic development and it’s spurring on interest in the community.
I think it’s all good for us.”
Samuelson noted the casino rushed to open in February, over a month before
its originally anticipated opening date. There are still parts of the
overall project, including restoration of the old Concord golf course,
and development of a water park and second smaller hotel.
