Commissioners reallocate casino revenue, boost discretionary riverboat spending this year

Commissioners reviewed allocations of riverboat/casino revenue and agreed to use a portion of the fund balance to boost discretionary distributions for the current year. Staff said the recurring annual receipt is about $97,000, with a modest cumulative surplus that allowed the board to consider a higher distribution this cycle.

After discussion, the body agreed informally to raise the available distribution to $120,000 this year (using roughly $30,000 of cumulative surplus) and moved to formalize a $40,000 allocation to the Madison economic-development partnership. Commissioners also approved keeping a $25,000 special-projects line under commissioner discretion.

One commissioner noted only requests submitted on time should be considered for this discretionary round; staff said they would collect proposals and return averages for final approval. The transcript shows voice agreement to the allocations; final disbursement is conditional on available fund balance and future reporting.