Jason Miller, The News-Dispatch
jmiller@thenewsdispatch.com
MICHIGAN CITY - Gaming jobs might not be all that's lost due to the recent drop in revenue at Blue Chip Casino.
With the amount of casino cash infused into La Porte County along with its cities and towns each year, municipal projects could also be put off thanks to the drop in casino attendance.
"We've understood that with a facility going in to the north that there would possibly be a temporary or even long-term loss," Michigan City Mayor Chuck Oberlie said. "We've budgeted conservatively for that very reason."
It was announced last week that Blue Chip will cut some 6 percent of its work force due to loss in revenue. The Four Winds Casino opened in New Buffalo, Mich., earlier this fall, and the revenue loss has corresponded to that opening, according to Boyd Gaming officials.
All municipalities in the county could feel a sting, although some smaller than others.
"I'll be really curious to see in January what the impact is," La Porte County Auditor Teresa Shuter said. "It's down from about $4 million a few years ago to what I'm sure will be less this year. It's pretty scary."
La Porte County and its cities and towns receive from the state a percentage of revenue gained from taxes levied against Blue Chip's attendance and winnings.
When the casino first opened in 1995, the idea was to use what has become known as "riverboat money" for capital projects. Michigan City, though, has become dependent on the money not only for projects, but to pay for operational costs like health coverage for employees.
Oberlie said in the three years since the city began using the money for operations, the amount has gone down. But because the cash is still used for operations, it's likely that capital improvements would suffer from any long-term reduction in revenue.
"We still have a major allocation for health insurance, but we'll be able to start to stabilize and reduce that," he said. "I think what will happen is the cycle on projects might get longer.
"The Washington/Wabash sewer project took two budget cycles. Now projects like that might take three cycles."
In the city's 2008 budget, the city estimated revenue of $13.31 million in riverboat funds, $2.75 million from casino donations, $6.76 million from win taxes and $3.8 million from admission taxes.
The city estimated $13.06 million in revenue in the 2007 budget. $2.5 million from donations and the same amounts from win and admission taxes.
La Porte County, Shuter said, has averaged about $621,000 per quarter in riverboat revenue. She expects that to go down. Unlike Michigan City, though, the loss will likely only cause a problem with capital projects.
"We've never counted on the riverboat to supplement our general fund," she said. "It's used simply to fund extra large projects. Honestly, you just can't count on it."