Legislators mull poll shift in casino support

By DAVID HULSE

MONTICELLO, NY — To varying extents in both of its host benefit agreements with the St. Regis Mohawks and the Stockbridge Munsees, the Sullivan County Legislature is bound to lend its support to the two casino projects.

Which begs the question, what do they do if they no longer want to support the projects? Would they be in breach of contract if they question casino gaming?

In his playful style of avoiding questions, County Attorney Sam Yasgur said that he had no answer. “My clients [the Legislature] haven’t asked me, so I don’t have a position.”

The question arises as recent surveys of registered voters, conducted by the county Division of Planning and Community Development and the Times Herald-Record, indicate weakening support for casino development.

Gaming opponents who, along with gaming supporters, regularly speak at the Legislature’s monthly meeting, repeatedly pointed out the two recent surveys as the panel met on September 15. No legislators ventured a reply.

Following the meeting, Republican Minority Leader Rodney Gaebel said the survey results probably now have brought the legislature to the point where “we have to start looking at [the host benefit] documents again.”

Gaebel blamed the state government, which denied the county any portion of the state’s revenue from Indian gaming, for the predicament. “They cut us loose. They said make your own deal.”

Before becoming the legislative chair, Chris Cunningham was among the most skeptical legislators regarding gaming in the county.

Following last week’s session, Cunningham said the panel has been trying to be cautious in its public positions and that the topic of a policy change has not come up. “It hasn’t reached a point where we’ve wanted to consider a change.”

Still, he noted that there are two legislators on the board who were not party to the agreements, and within the “whole soap opera of ideas” surrounding the issue, legislators have talked about it privately. “I can’t say it won’t be a topic of discussion…At some point we will have a discussion,” he added.

The county, legally denied the opportunity for a local referendum on the subject, has never considered additional specific polling on the casno question. “It’s always been an article of faith that the majority was in favor of it,” he said.

Cunningham speculated that a survey could be a good topic for the new citizens advisory board, which the legislature is forming. “It’s a fluid situation,” he said.

In other business last week, Legislator Ron Hiatt spoke at the meeting to criticize county waste haulers who had notified customers of a 36-percent rate increase based on the county’s recent 36-percent increase in tipping fees.

Since the average family produces about a ton of garbage annually, Hiatt said that a family would pay the $20 tipping fee difference in two months with a $10 monthly increase. “This is a wrongful subterfuge.” He called on the haulers to consider alternative fee structures.

Following public hearings last week, the legislature approved two local laws providing for new tax revenues. The first imposes a mortgage filing tax of $.25 per $100 of the mortgage’s value and the second imposes a $.30 per month surcharge on locally secured cellular phone accounts. The phone surcharge is expected to raise $150,000 in new revenues, while the mortgage tax would raise $700,000.