At last week’s New Jersey gaming summit at Monmouth Park, Jon Hanson, head of governor Chris Christie’s kitchen cabinet on racing and gaming, was asked about the proposed 'city within a city' proposal to take over administrative details of government in Atlantic City
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He told the crowd nothing was in place as yet, that “the devil is in the details.”
Yesterday the devil was dispatched in a 15-minute phone call between Christie and Atlantic City Mayor Lorenzo Langford, with the devil stealing off with the details and the public once again excluded, as it was in preparation of the Hanson report.
Langford said a one-page agreement was signed for the state to provide oversight of the Atlantic City budget and finances for at least a year.
New Jersey will have a direct hand in developing a budget and tax rate for the city of 40,000, but Langford made clear the proceedings would be confidential.
“It’s advisory rather than compulsory. We can’t have too many eyes looking at the city finances,” he was quoted as saying in a story by Dunstan McNichol on bloomberg.com.
(Harness Tracks of America)