Indian Gaming

"Residents of Niagara Falls are about to take it on the chin – not to mention in the nose, the gut and the wallet – because the state of New York and the Seneca Nation of Indians haven’t resolved their differences over casino gambling in Western New York.

But make no mistake: Either way this shakes out, it is Albany that is to blame for a crushing tax increase that Niagara Falls residents and businesses cannot afford.

Mayor Paul A. Dyster has proposed a “disaster budget” that includes property tax increases of 8.3 percent for homeowners and 5 percent for businesses. It would also eliminate the equivalent of 27.5 full-time positions, of which nine are currently vacant or about to become so through retirement.

What seems like a small number of layoffs will have far-reaching effects, because the union contract prevents the city from hiring any temporary or seasonal workers while any full-time hourly employee is on layoff. That will cost the city 82 seasonal workers who would have done such things as paved streets and acted as lifeguards at municipal swimming pools."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Albany should head off Niagara Falls disaster (The Buffalo News 11/6)

Related Stories:
City works on loan to make up for Seneca Nation gaming funds (10/31)