On Monday, November 26, after Chatham-Kent Council agreed to a new revenue-sharing agreement with the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., Councillor Doug Sulman offered a quote which sums up the feelings of many councillors from many Ontario municipalities: "You can't not sign it, because we need the revenues."
Sulman's quote comes courtesy of a report by the Chatham Daily News, which explains that the Council approved the agreement reluctantly.
The article states that the municipality will receive .25 per cent more than it currently does from slot-machine revenue -- that being in the first category of a sliding-scale rate agreement. The municipality will not receive any revenue from additional gaming offerings (i.e., table games, roulette, single-event sports wagering, etc.). The article explains that a clause in the agreement states that the OLG can decrease the percentage of the municipality's take of the revenue.
The report has quoted John Norton, Chatham-Kent director of Legal Services, as saying that the deal is a "strange agreement."
(With files from Chatham Daily News)
Yes, you CAN not sign it- you
Yes, you CAN not sign it- you may, on a really good day, get that cheque they have maybe promised you... or not, but .......except when... or if,
This is a rotten deal, and not signing it won't make much difference at all in the end. Refuse to sign it, refuse to allow gaming, and then you may have the cards in your hand. Otherwise, the OLG is going to take the whole pot, and the big money goes in Tannenbaums, Godfrey & MGMs pockets.
If they need the revenues
If they need the revenues that badly then they should stop paying their legal counsel. This is a prime example of why Municipal government is a wasted layer of tax money. The councillors often have very little business experience. Certainly they have never run or sat on the board of a multimillion dolllar company (such as this large county), yet here they are voting and signing like they know what they're doing. In my own town one of the councillors is a shelf stocker at a local Canadian Tire. Nice guy though.
What other contracts do they sign with service providers that absolutely fleece the counties? I really need to do more business with people like this. It's easy money.
Georg Leber-ICR Racing
In reply to If they need the revenues by Gleber
Who says the shelf stocker
Who says the shelf stocker isn't very business orientated.Perhaps it wouldn't be the easy money you think it would be.
"You can't not sign it"?
"You can't not sign it"? Maybe some of the OLG's funds SHOULD be directed to education...especially the english department!
I feel bad for Dresden Raceway because it has the potential to be transformed into a lucrative venue for the people of Chatham-Kent and beyond.
I think the existing revenue
I think the existing revenue sharing agreement is based on gross revenue not net. What guarantee is there that the new private operators will produce this additional .25% to these host municipalities. My guess would be that the private operators will make sure that their operating costs are such that they will maximize their profits and minimize the revenue sharing to the provincial treasury and the host cities. OLG is not going to guarantee anything and should not be trusted. Just look at what OLG has done to destroy racing in this province with the assistance of Dalton's band of Liberal incompetents!
Trust, integrity and loyality to their business partners are foreign values to the OLG and this poor example of a provincial government. Just ask rural Ontario and anyone involved in horse racing in this province.
Just as the horsepeople have
Just as the horsepeople have been betrayed by the OLG, so too will these municipalities be that are being bullied/lured into accepting these so-called "agreements". The OLG will rip them off just as they have the horse racing industry. Just a matter of time.
"We need the revenues." So
"We need the revenues." So the councillors feel exactly the same as the horsemen. Instead of rushing to sign this "strange agreement" perhaps municipal councils could show a bit of collective restraint and wait until spring when there will surely be a new government with which to negotiate." Is noone immune from the Liberal/OLG bullying tactics?
In reply to "We need the revenues." So by karrydalefarm
There signing because they
There signing because they could care less about racing.Slots are the game.
Just another fine example of
Just another fine example of the OLG's "bully" tactics. Either sign or we cut you off the current revenue stream and by the way we are including a clause to decrease your cut of the profits??? What kind of an agreement is this? Only fools would subject themselves to an agreement like this. Say goodbye to Dresden Raceway and horse racing in Kent County. I submit that .25% of nothing is still nothing.