Cuomo’s host county ‘runaround’ irks officials

Madison County officials are unhappy with Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s decision to veto a bill that would provide Madison County with a host-county share of the slot machine revenue generated within its borders.

“The governor constantly touts his commitment to Upstate New York, but I guess that does not include Madison County,” Madison County Board Chairman John Becker said Monday. “I amnot sure why our residents are being treated differently than every other county’s residents.”

Becker is referring to the fact that Madison County remains the only county in the state that does not receive a share of gaming revenue from devices within its borders. The payments are designed to offset costs associated with a casino, such as dealing with increased traffic,

crime and social problems.

Madison County also voiced its displeasure with how the Governor’s Office has handled the issue. “We are not sure why Madison County residents continue to get the runaround from the Governor’s Office,” said Madison County Board Vice Chairman Dan Degear.

The officials said they’ve been following the Governor’s Office directions for more than two years. First, they were told to meet with the New York State Gaming Commission to draft a supplemental agreement that ultimately went nowhere.

Next, the Governor’s Office said it would address the disparity through the budget process.

Finally, when it was not addressed during the budget process, the Governor’s Office decided Madison County needed legislation to correct this wrong. Sen. David Valesky, D-53, and Assemblyman Bill Magee, D-121, drafted the legislation, which was passed by both houses.

After all these efforts, Cuomo vetoed the bill. In the veto message, he once again instructed the county to go back to the budget office.

Will the Senate and Assembly attempt to override the veto with a two-thirds vote in both houses?

No. An override is not possible as the Legislature is not scheduled to reconvene this year and cannot be overridden when the Legislature returns to session in 2017, says Valesky’s Director of Communications Tracy Carman.

Valesky and Magee did not make themselves available to answer that question, but issued a joint statement:

“We are most disappointed with the recent veto of Madison County gaming legislation that was overwhelmingly approved by both the Senate and Assembly earlier this year. Madison County now hosts casino gaming within its borders but does not receive host community benefits - a situation this legislation would have recti- fied,” the two veteran lawmakers said.

“However, we are encouraged that the governor has directed his budget director ‘ to review and explore a revenue sharing formula that would provide Madison County with an appropriate portion of the revenue generated from such gaming devices.’ In this regard, we look forward to continuing to work with the Madison County Board of Supervisors and the governor’s office to bring about a long-term solution that best serves Madison County residents.”

Madison County officials were less optimistic.

“Sadly, in recentweeks, it’s become clear that too many decisions made in Albany are not based on the merits. We aren’t looking for a billion; we are just looking for our fair share,” Becker said.

The bill, which passed 59-1 in the Senate and 124-4 in the Assembly, would amend the State Finance Law and obligate the state to pay Madison County 25 percent of the state’s share of the revenue from slot machines in Madison County; this money currently goes to Oneida County.

This payment would be in addition to the annual $3.5 million payment Madison County currently receives pursuant to the 2013 agreement, as well as the one-time $11 million payment that Madison County received when it signed the agreement. At that time, there were no slots or casinos in the county.

When the veto was announced late on Friday, Cuomo referenced worries of jeopardizing the 2013 settlement agreement between the state, the Oneida Indian Nation, Madison County, and Oneida County, that settled years of litigation over property tax, land and reservation issues, as the driving factor for his rejection of the bill.

At last count, the OIN had 432 slots at the Yellow Brick Road Casino in Chittenango and 14 at the Canastota SavOn convenience store.

In September, Madison County officials, Valesky and Magee joined in a press conference urging the governor to sign the bill into law.