Two weeks ago I received an email written by the Chairman of the Gaming Authority, Mr. Jay Finnigan. At stake was more than $1.2 Million in uncommitted funds under control of the Authority.
His email was sent to all Northampton municipalities. He was in opposition of Northampton County Council that introduced an ordinance calling on the Gaming Board to disband. The Gaming Board was informed last year that the state of Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Financing Authority would be taking control of the gaming revenue.
Mr. Finnigan was opposed to the ordinance, stating it was the intent of the Gaming Authority to open another round of grants one last time. He also noted, “If you just took the remaining funds and split it between each municipality evenly, the distribution would be approximately $31,000,” he said in his email.
Having applied for a grant last year through the Gaming Authority, I left that meeting of the Gaming Authority with the distinct feeling that the board, made up of members from nine different communities who had all submitted grant applications of their own, was a mutual back scratching membership.
Bethlehem received a grant for new tourist signs. If memory serves me correctly, every community with a representative on the Gaming Board received a grant. West Easton was among those that did not.
I wrote to Mr. Finnigan and Northampton County Council, stating that I supported County Council’s ordinance. I did not support Mr. Finnigan’s board having one last chance to take care of their own. I’m not sure how much support Mr. Finnigan received, as a number of communities failed to see any monetary benefit in the way of grants from the Gaming Board.
What might have turned into a legal battle, seems to have been amicably settled between the Gaming Board and County Council.
County Executive Lamont McClure is expected to approve the equal distribution of the $1.2M, less monies needed for the Gaming Board to see previous grants are followed through and to settle outstanding bills.
Every municipality in Northampton County will receive $31,440. The money granted may only be used for human services, infrastructure improvements, facilities, emergency services, public health or public safety.
Future monies collected by the Commonwealth Financing Authority and awarded to municipalities will be exclusively for economic development projects, community improvement projects and other projects that are in the public interest.
Disclaimer: On January 4, 2016, the owner of WestEastonPA.com began serving on the West Easton Council following an election. Postings and all content found on this website are the opinions of Matthew A. Dees and may not necessarily represent the opinion of the governing body for The Borough of West Easton.
