Scratch-and-Lose Lottery
Fresh off approving a budget that includes some $71 million in cuts and delivers pink slips for scores of county employees and schoolteachers, Mecklenburg County could find itself hit by another fiscal wallop: losing upwards of $17 million courtesy of a state money grab.
The North Carolina Association of County Commissioners has fired off an emergency legislative alert to its members, warning of a possible move by the N.C. General Assembly to confiscate additional lottery proceeds from counties to help balance the state budget.
From a missive Republican Commissioner Bill James received today from NCACC Executive Director David Thompson:
“Should county lottery funds be used entirely to backfill state budget cuts, Mecklenburg County would lose $16,836,578. In addition, restoring those monies in next year’s economic climate would be difficult at best. Remind your delegates that the legislature has already taken all of the county corporate tax set aside funds for school construction for 2009-11, costing Mecklenburg County roughly $18,800,358 for this fiscal year and next.”
James’ take on what could unfold, should the state’s money grab prove successful? It ain’t pretty:
“The County will have to reduce spending by the amount cut ($5 to $17 million) because the debt service has to be paid and the money from somewhere.
In the recently adopted County budget a reserve of $2 million was set up because we believed the state would mess with Mecklenburg County taxpayers. At the time the GOP felt that the $2 million reserve should have been $10 million.
So, now that the budget is adopted, removal of the lottery money by the state will blow a huge hole in Mecklenburg County’s budget. This hole would be in addition to the possibility of any revenue shortfalls due to the over-estimate of sales taxes in the next few months.
The Commissioners SHOULD take the money from CMS if the State raids lottery money but given past votes it is more likely than not that the money would be taken, in part, from libraries, parks, Vets, and other functions – already straining to deal with the current cutbacks.
Those of you interested in those functions should be aware that what the State is considering could cost you your branch library or your park.”
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