Cuyahoga County Council debates what to do with newfound casino money

CLEVELAND - It is a tax fight that local legislators aren't quite used to waging, what to do with newfound money, tax revenue from the state's new casino industry to be exact.

The debate is taking place inside Cuyahoga County Council chambers. The county is expected to get $2.3 million from its share of the state's 33 percent tax on gross casino revenue with that number jumping in the years that follow to the $8.5 million to $11 million range.

County Executive Ed FitzGerald is asking the council to establish a fund to deposit the money which will be used solely to promote economic development in Cleveland’s Downtown District, generally defined as the area bordered by Lake Erie south to the Innerbelt Bridge and from West 25th Street to East 25th Street.

“There are no examples of successful major metropolitan areas that do not have a vibrant downtown, it doesn’t exist,” said FitzGerald. “If your downtown isn’t vibrant your suburbs will wither and die, there’s no question about it.”

Those inner-ring suburbs though some argue are feeling the pinch right now and unless they get some help it will only get worse. Euclid Mayor Bill Cervenik addressing the council warned of creating a desert in between a vibrant downtown and the suburbs where the cities once thrived.

County Councilwoman Sunny Simon echoed the comments.

“What we’re going to see is even though we have a strengthening downtown and job creation, the people who are going to be working and making the money are not going to want to live in those suburbs,” said Simon. “We have to find a way of addressing that potential desert and it’s not by giving all of the money to the city of Cleveland."

FitzGerald pointed out that if you start handing out the pool of money to all who want it, you’ll spread it so thin where it will have no impact.

“If we try to be all things to all people we will blow an opportunity to be strategic about these funds,” he said.

History has also shown, FitzGerald said, unless you support this new attraction and improve on it, there won’t be money to split up because the casino won’t succeed.

“If you look at what’s happened downtown before you might have a stadium that happens and then nothing else happens or you have the Flats happen, then nothing else happens. And we’ve got to make sure that this is a whole district that really works for the whole county,” FitzGerald said.

Backing him up was former Lt. Governor Lee Fisher. Fisher now is now president and CEO of a national network of civic and urban leaders advancing the next generation of great American cities, called CEOs for Cities. It’s an organization, he said, that focuses on why suburbs need a core city and that core city should focus on creating connectivity.

“If that casino is not connected to the rest of the city this casino, no matter how attractive it is inside, will fail,” he said. That’s why he said the suburbs, though hurting for cash, should let the county focus on Cleveland.

“Whether you live in Shaker Heights or Westlake or Lakewood, the best thing you can do right now is invest these economic development dollars from the casino back into the city because if this casino is not part of a vibrant city, the casino will not succeed and, therefore, the region will not succeed."

The county will next debate the issue on June 12 at 3 p.m. but FitzGerald warned it’s important to move with a sense of urgency because of possible attempts by the state legislature to dictate how county’s should spend casino money.

“Nothing is safe when the legislature’s in session and they have talked about taking these funds away from us,” he said.