New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has appointed a new chairman for the state’s Casino Control Commission leading to charges that the current chair, Matthew Levinson, is being ousted for political reasons.
Levenson is the son of Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson—an elected position as the head of the county’s government administration. The county is currently suing the state over its payment in lieu of taxes legislation for Atlantic City casinos. The county wants a larger share of the PILOT money.
Dennis Levinson charged that Christie’s appointment of former Cape May County Sheriff James Plousis as chairman to replace Matt Levinson was political payback for the county filing the legal challenge.
“This is how it works, and it’s not a big surprise,” Dennis Levinson told the Press of Atlantic City. “If you go along with everything they want, they take care of you.”
Matt Levinson and Christie did not comment on the report.
The dispute between the county and state revolves around the percentage of PILOT tax money the county receives for its taxes on casinos. Levinson has said Christie made an informal deal to give Atlantic County 13.5 percent of the PILOT revenue, but the state later backed off that figure. The county has received 10.4 percent of the payments, which is $4 million less than what the county expected, according to the Press.
That shortfall has increased the chances of a county tax hike, officials said, but reports still say the county will receive more in total revenue this year than in 2016.
Still, the county and state have sparred over the extent of the county’s efforts to help the city reduce its massive debt caused largely by successful casino tax appeals that have taken millions off the city’s tax rolls. State officials have said the county could have done more to reduce the city’s costs, but county officials said many of their proposals to do that were rejected by the state.
“Matt was collateral damage in this, and we expected it,” Levinson told the newspaper. “But Matt told me before the lawsuit was filed that he would be disappointed in me if I didn’t do what I believed was right for the county.”
Plousis, is head of the state’s parole board and has served as the U.S. marshal of New Jersey. He also did not comment for the Press story.
Matt Levinson’s term as chairman expired in August, but he has remained in the seat while a new chairman was appointed. Levinson was re-nominated by the late Sen. Jim Whelan in February, but was not re-appointed by Christie.
