Salem Talks Trust Fund for Potential Casino Revenue

Salem's Casino Advisory Committee is mulling the potential use of a trust fund for any casino revenue that would come to the town in the event that Rockingham Park were to receive the bid award.

According to Selectman Stephen Campbell, who is the board's representative to the casino committee, the thought process behind having one or two trust funds is to allow residents to know where the gambling revenue is going.

Campbell told the town's Budget Committee late last week that a trust fund could be set up in several different ways. One could have the Board of Selectmen act as agents to expend any revenue. In another strategy, a trust fund could require voter approval to expend any funds.

"Once you pour money into the general fund, it's hard to say this dollar went here, this dollar went somewhere else," said Campbell in an interview with Patch. "If you have a trust fund you would see directly what it would be used for.

Campbell relayed the possibility to the Budget Committee of saving up casino revenues for a year or two and then paying cash for big ticket town items, such as a new police station or replacing town hall.

That dollar amount that Salem would receive is still very much up in the air.

Although state Sen. Chuck Morse (R-Salem) told the town in early March that the town see close to $13.5 million in annual revenue, that figure was based on 3 percent of net machine income going to the host community.

But when three House casino subcommittees delivered their reports to the larger 45-member joint committee last week, a new recommendation of 1 percent to the host community was brought forth by revenue subcommittee Chairman Neal Kurk (R-Weare).

The recommendation maintains that 1 percent of net machine income should be shared by abutting communities, apportioned by population. An additional 1 percent was recommended to go to host counties within a 40-minute circles, apportioned by population within that radius.

With the revenue subcommittee 1 percent recommendation, $4,699.375 was listed as the maximum gain for the host community in the casino's first full year of operation.

In a series of six scenarios documented by the subcommittee, the lowest possible gain for the host community was $1,631,550.

A joint committee vote is expected to come Wednesday afternoon.