Officials of the West Springfield city are seeking additional funding from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) for managing their first responder costs. The city suggests that these costs have increased since the MGM Springfield casino launched in the city in August 2018.

MGM is increasing costs

MGM’s Springfield property is a $960 million integrated resort casino from MGM Resorts. The company pays the city $375,000 annually owing to a surrounding community mitigation agreement. However, now the neighboring town suggests that it would need access to more resources because of increasing first responder costs.

In the 12 months before the casino resort opened, the city received 11,936 emergency calls. In the first year of its opening, the number of first responder assistance calls increased by 15.5% to 13,789. The city is located across the Connecticut River, just west of Springfield, and has a population of 28,500. It also has experienced an increasing crime rate in the past few years. Data from City-Data and Neighborhood Scout suggests that the city is safer than just seven percent of all US cities.

Calling on the Mitigation fund

The city is eyeing payments from the Community Mitigation Fund of the MGC. The fund was established in 2011 under the Massachusetts Expanded Gaming Act. It set aside funds that could be used to mitigate the unintended impacts that are related to the arrival of casino gaming. According to the MGC website, the fund was designed to offset the costs related to the operation and construction of gaming entities. The account is funded via taxes from gaming activities.

The state has two Category 1 resort casinos- Encore Boston Harbor and MGM Springfield. The gross gaming revenue (GGR) of these two entities is taxed at 25% of which 6.5% goes to the Community Mitigation Fund. Another slots-only facility, Plainridge Park, does not contribute to this fund. The money of the fund can be used by communities located around the casino. West Springfield is looking for a $200,000 allocation.