INDIANAPOLIS – Auditor of State
Connie Nass directed her office to distribute supplemental
casino admissions tax revenues to riverboat counties
and revenue sharing distributions to non-riverboat
counties 41 and 10 days ahead of schedule, respectively.
The supplemental distributions were authorized
in the 2003 Budget Act to bring the admissions tax
revenues received during the 2003 fiscal year up
to the base year revenue level. Indiana law limits
gaming revenue distributions to local government
units in counties with riverboats to their “base
year revenue”. “Base year revenue”
is defined as the amount paid to the local government
unit during the state fiscal year 2002.
In response to a Lake County Council Resolution,
Auditor Nass directed her settlements department
to distribute supplemental casino admissions taxes
to all relevant local governments as soon as the
money became available. In addition she ordered
the early distribution of revenue sharing payments
to all other Indiana counties. Those monies were
distributed by electronic funds transfer or check
on Monday, August 4, 2003.
“I intend to make it an ongoing policy in
my office to ensure that revenues are distributed
to local governments as early as possible,”
stated Nass. “As tight as things are across
Indiana right now, those of us in state government
must always remember that local governments provide
many of the most immediate and necessary services
for Hoosiers’ quality of life. As a former
mayor and city councilman, I am well aware of the
hardship that any delay in the receipt of revenues
can cause a community.”
Distribution of these revenues to counties with
riverboats must be made before September 15, 2003,
and to revenue sharing counties by August 15. The
law allows early distribution. “By distributing
these payments to local governments as quickly as
possible, we hope to ease some of the pressure on
them to borrow additional money,” Nass added.
Summaries of the supplemental distributions to
gaming counties and revenue sharing payments to
other counties are attached to this release.
