The city of Niagara Falls should get triple its current amount from a nearby tribal gaming operation, New York State Senator Robert G. Ortt says in a plan to boost local revenues.
Ortt recently unveiled his “Revitalize Niagara” plan, in which he says the city should get a much larger share of gaming revenue from the Seneca Niagara Casino.
The current revenue sharing plan gives the state 75 percent and Niagara Falls 25 percent of slot gaming revenues shared by the Seneca Nation. But Ortt wants to reverse that, so that the city gets 75 percent of shared revenues and the state only 25 percent.
The current revenue sharing plan has been in place since 2003, and Niagara Falls collected about $183 million in revenues, versus about $600 million for the state, Ortt said. The city’s share is reduced further by amounts given to local public schools and units of government.
Ortt says he plans to introduce enabling legislation for his revitalization plan in 2016.
