Keeping a Promise: Springfield Wants Back $3M in Casino Funds
Springfield Seeks Restoration of Casino Mitigation Funds
Springfield City Councilor Sean Curran has called on Governor Maura Healey to restore $3 million in casino mitigation funds that were recently removed from the state budget. These funds originate from a total allocation of $20 million designated for communities in western Massachusetts, which have long relied on this support to manage the impacts of hosting MGM Springfield in Metro Center.
Importance of Mitigation Funds to Springfield
Councilor Curran emphasized that Springfield shoulders the largest share of casino-related challenges, including increased traffic, demands on public safety, and infrastructure needs. The mitigation funds were promised specifically to help the city address these pressures. Redirecting this money to other uses would break that promise and place an unfair financial strain on Springfield’s municipal budget.
For the past decade, the city has utilized these casino tax revenues to support critical public services such as purchasing police and fire equipment, making traffic improvements, repairing infrastructure, and funding projects like the renovation of Court Square Park. Typically, Springfield received around $3 million each year in these funds, but this year the amount was drastically reduced to only $360,000.
Allocation and Use of Casino-Generated Funds
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) has distributed roughly $56.7 million from the Community Mitigation Fund. This fund is supported by taxes collected from the city’s AAA Four Diamond-rated MGM Springfield casino and Encore Boston Harbor (EBH), a luxury resort and casino located in Everett.
In its June report on casino and sports betting, the MGC revealed that the state’s gaming industry generated a total revenue of $159.7 million. Of this, MGM, EBH, and Plainridge Park Casino (PPC) contributed taxes amounting to $40.3 million.
These funds have been used for various regional initiatives such as expanding workforce and hospitality training programs at Holyoke Community College, Springfield Technical Community College, and Springfield Public Schools.
The Hampden County Sheriff’s Department utilized some of these dollars to maintain the Western Massachusetts Recovery & Wellness Center, an essential addiction treatment facility displaced during MGM Springfield’s construction. The Hampden District Attorney’s Office also strengthened public safety programs using the fund. Neighboring communities including West Springfield, Chicopee, Longmeadow, and Northampton have invested their shares in infrastructure improvements and economic development.
Ongoing Discussions and the Call for Fairness
The State Casino Commission was scheduled to discuss the future of the mitigation funds, with Councilor Curran expressing confidence that the state has the financial means to restore Springfield’s allocations. He pointed out that the state has reserves totaling $8 billion.
For Curran, restoring these funds is more than a matter of fairness; it is about honoring the commitment made to Springfield, the host community that has accepted the challenges associated with the casino. A failure to reinstate the full funding could hamper Springfield and surrounding towns’ progress, so state officials have been urged to uphold their original promise.
