The Casino Association of New Jersey (CANJ) applauds the passage of the Atlantic City economic package (A3981, A3983-A3985) by the New Jersey Assembly. Thanks to the hard work of Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto, Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald and the legislation’s sponsors – Assemblymen Vincent Mazzeo, John J. Burzichelli and Bob Andrzejczak – we have meaningful legislation that will help mitigate Atlantic City’s fiscal crisis.
Atlantic City urgently needs this stabilization, which is critical to maintain the thousands of jobs and investment dollars in the market and to enable and stimulate further diversification, investment and growth across the city and region. Without the PILOT program, certain casinos that remain in Atlantic City are at risk. That means thousands of jobs and millions in tax revenue also remain at risk as do other businesses that rely on the casinos for their economic livelihood.
In addition, the reallocation of CRDA and ACA funding to the city as part of the plan is essential to help stabilize the tax rate for non-casino taxpayers while the city continues to correct the size of government to reflect the current economic conditions in the region. This legislation is a crucial and, in fact, the principal component of the overall plan that must be pursued by the city to stabilize revenue, reduce expenses and reverse a vicious spiral that will otherwise lead to very negative ramifications to the city, county, region and state. While the redirection of these funds will be an additional expense incurred by each casino, we understand during these challenging times, difficult choices must be made and sacrifices are necessary for the overall survival and well-being of Atlantic City.
We urge the Senate to pass this legislation, which will put Atlantic City on the right path forward.