Slots $ for local aid

This from the State House News Service, via John Nunnari –

MMA CHIEF SEES SLOTS DELIVERING LOCAL AID $$$
[Story Developing] The opening of the state’s first slot parlor in Plainville should provide more than enough money to fund the governor’s proposed increase in unrestricted local aid, Massachusetts Municipal Association Executive Director Geoffrey Beckwith told lawmakers Tuesday. Plainridge Park Casino will generate $86.7 million to $118.5 million, according to Beckwith, who said the funds are required to flow into a local aid account. The slots parlor is set to open June 24. The group representing cities and towns backed Gov. Charlie Baker’s proposed $34 million increase in unrestricted local aid at a hearing before the House and Senate Ways and Means committees, which met at Greenfield Community College Tuesday. “The governor’s increase would be a return to the concept of revenue sharing,” said Beckwith, who was more critical of Baker’s proposed minimum $20-per-student increase in local education funding. Baker’s budget would increase local education funding, also known as Chapter 70, by $105.3 million. The funds are sent to cities and towns based on a formula. Beckwith pushed for a $100-per-student minimum increase and said the governor’s proposal is “insufficient.” – Andy Metzger/SHNS