AJ Colley, Shelbyville News Staff Writer

As millions of dollars filter into Shelby County from Indiana Live!, government officials are hoping to cement guidelines on how to spend the money.

Since Indiana Live! opened its temporary facility in June 2008, Shelby County and its city and towns have received $9.8 million in racino revenues. Millions of it remain unspent, and opinions vary on the best use for it. Monday and Tuesday, two proposed plans on racino spending guidelines will be heard by government bodies.

The Shelbyville City Council will consider a resolution Monday that calls for directing 60 percent of racino money for economic development, 15 percent for redevelopment and capital projects, 7-1/2 percent for non-safety vehicles, 7-1/2 percent for streets, 5 percent for a reserve fund and 5 percent for the Blue River Community Foundation.

City council member Jeff Sponsel said he’s been trying to set down racino spending guidelines for three years. He said he wanted something in place before Indiana Live! opened its doors.

“If we’re not investing that wisely in our future, then we’re not behaving responsibly as elected officials,” Sponsel said.

City wants more jobs

Many people have suggested the money be used to pay bills that would come out of the city’s annual budget, Sponsel said. He said that’s not the most responsible way to spend it.

“If you can’t balance your budget without the racino money, then you probably can’t balance your budget with it,” he said. “It’s an easy cop-out to say that we need it to pay bills and pay salaries.”

Having racino money makes Shelbyville ineligible for certain grants, Sponsel said. That makes it even more important for the city to carefully spend the money, he said.

City officials emphasized the importance of using the money for economic development as a way to lure businesses to the area. Sponsel said cities no longer have to use a tax abatement as the only negotiating chip to bring a business and its jobs to town.

City council member Kim Owens said she agrees with the need to devote some of the money to economic development. She said it could be what stops Shelbyville from finishing in second place when companies consider locating in the city.

“This might give us more leverage with some of these development opportunities that come our way,” Owens said.

Mayor Scott Furgeson said it’s rare for a city the size of Shelbyville to devote such a large amount of money to economic development, but he said he supports it.

“It’s good to do, and it’s an important part (of the proposed resolution),” he said. “It really shows the outside world, I think, that we’re serious about economic development.”

Although under the proposed city plan, the money doesn’t directly lower taxes for residents, city council members and Furgeson said it still reduces the tax burden.

Difficult financial times and the restructuring of property taxes have forced Shelbyville to constrain its budget, Furgeson said. Now, the city can afford to do projects without relying so heavily on tax dollars.

County officials weigh votes carefully

The Shelby County Council also has been considering its own resolution, which is in some ways similar to the city’s.

Council President Terry Smith presented the resolution at the Feb. 16 meeting, and it’s on the agenda for a vote at Tuesday night’s meeting. Council members said at the earlier meeting that they weren’t ready to vote.

Smith’s proposal calls for using 80 percent of racino revenues for capital improvements and economic development, 15 percent for the general fund and 5 percent for the Blue River Community Foundation. While council members debated some details of the proposal, many appeared supportive of devoting a large percentage of racino money to economic development.

The council has approved using racino money to pay for several school projects, but the approvals have always been 4-3 split votes. Some officials say the money shouldn’t be given to school systems, as they are taxing entities capable of raising money on their own. Others supported the projects because they were one-time costs, to upgrade technology. That technology, some said, is key to economic development because it creates a more capable work force.

While Shelby County commissioners don’t vote to disperse racino money, Commissioners President Tony Newton also said he would like the money to be used on economic development. But Newton has several other ideas for the money.

“I think it needs to be spent on one-time capital improvement projects,” he said.

Newton said it would also be useful to have racino money to devote to deteriorating bridges and streets.

“I’d like to see some of it come back to the highway department to help with the roads and things like that,” he said.

Towns focus on residents’ needs

Tom Reber, clerk-treasurer for Morristown, said he also thinks racino money should be put toward one-time expenses.

Reber said money should be used wisely in the future, and Morristown needs to find ways to use racino revenues to help the community.

“In the future, there might be a paving project that needs to be done, (or) helping people with their sidewalks,” Reber said.

More generally, Reber said, racino money should be used to enhance the quality of life for residents.

Fairland has a similar sentiment for future use of racino revenues. Clerk-treasurer Christine Brinson said racino revenues should be spent on something that can benefit town residents.

“We have a lot of needs in the town,” she said.

Rick Daily, president of the town council, said the racino money is good for projects. Some examples of how the money could be spent in Fairland are for road projects, a dump truck or a firetruck, Daily said.

“We’re not spending any money we don’t have to,” he said. “We need to be very frugal.”

All agree: One-time uses only

Many city and county officials said the community should not grow to depend on the money or use it as a crutch, in case it’s no longer there.

The racino money shouldn’t be used for ongoing expenses such as personnel, Newton said.

“You never know whether that money’s going to be there,” he said. “That’s not guaranteed money.”

Shelbyville’s Clerk-Treasurer Rod Meyerholtz said racino money should always be spent the year after it’s collected. This year, for instance, the city should spend the 2009 racino revenues, and in 2011 the city should spend money collected in 2010.

“The casino may be there another 100 years, it may be there another five, who knows?” Meyerholtz said. “You don’t look ahead with casino money.”

Fairland town officials agree. Clerk-Treasurer Brinson said she doesn’t want to assume the money will be there down the road.

“We don’t want to count on this money,” she said. Town Council President Daily  said the money shouldn’t be used for operating expenses, because it might not be there forever.

Owens said she hopes the jobs and economic development from Indiana Live! continue, but she said there is no promise it will.

“While we hope this arrangement is always the arrangement, there’s no guarantee,” she said. “The legislature could come in and make changes to dictate those funds.”