Mallow says Batavia can handle loss of video lottery money to state budget

In a statement issued last night, Assemblyman Steve Hawley said the elimination of VLT money (video lottery terminal funds) is going to cost both Batavia and the County some big bucks.

Today we asked City Council President Charlie Mallow (who, along with Rose Mary Christian, apparently will be a candidate for the County Legislature) about the impact of the state budget on local governments.

Charlie sent along this statement:

The city never planned for the VLT money to continue. We have always looked at the money as a short term windfall that was used to pay down the city’s debt. This year we used most of the money for designs to plan for infrastructure repairs.  On the bright side we were able to dodge a bullet that would have taken $40,000 in state aid that helps support our Youth bureau. We lobbied hard to change the governor’s mind about those block grants.  As far as I am aware at this point, some careful planning has helped us in the long run and this budget shouldn’t have a major effect on the city.

Hawley's statement about the VLT cuts:

The budget will also include a 50% reduction in VLT funding that will leave municipalities that depend on this money left holding the bag. The City of Batavia will see a cut of $314,849, the Town of Batavia $114,563, and Genesee County $143,137.  This lack of funding will force municipalities to pass along the added burden to taxpayers.

Reltated but out of the area: In an editorial, The Canandaigua Daily Messenger  recently said Farmington was wise not to count on keeping VLT money, which has been targetted for potential cuts before.