Not everyone is in favor of providing the nine casinos with such a substantial property tax break. One such critic is Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson, who says the PILOT effort will help casinos while hurting county taxpayers. Atlantic County receives 13.5 percent of the annual casino PILOT money.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“We are going to have to do what we’ve done all along — fight for taxpayers of Atlantic County,” Levinson told the Press of Atlantic City.<\/p>\n
However, Levinson conceded that the county doesn’t seem to “have any recourse.” The county executive said the PILOT amendment will cost Atlantic County taxpayers a minimum of $5 million a year.<\/p>\n
Only one person from the public spoke during the Appropriations Committee PILOT discussion. But Sue Altman of New Jersey Working Families, an independent political organization that fights for government policies that benefit the needs and values of working families, didn’t hold back.<\/p>\n
\nNew Jersey’s tendency to give the casino industry anything it wants is problematic,”<\/strong> Altman declared. “I am sick and tired of watching successful and profitable companies pay less than their fair share in taxes, especially in struggling cities.”<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nAssemblyman Vince Mazzeo (D-Atlantic County), who chairs the State and Local Government Committee, refused to take up the PILOT bill when it landed in the committee. As a result, the legislation was moved to Appropriations for action.<\/p>\n
Mazzeo opined that such an effort will result in fewer tax dollars for the county. He concluded that “it was a bad bill for Atlantic County.”<\/p>\n
Sweeney has claimed that as many as four Atlantic City casinos are in peril of closing without a property payment reduction. But the longtime state lawmaker, who was shockingly defeated during the November election by a little-known Republican challenger, has refused to provide any insight to that claim.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The odds of Atlantic City casinos saving around $55 million in 2022 property tax payments continue to shorten. That’s as legislation that seeks to provide the gaming resorts with financial savings makes progress in the New Jersey capital. Backed by lame-duck state Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D), a bill that would remove iGaming and online […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":195341,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,13],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Atlantic City Casino Property Relief Opponents Voice Frustration<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n