Dayton Daily News...
Casino tax money helps cities, but still falls short
By Joanne Huist Smith 

DAYTON — The first distribution of Ohio’s gross casino revenue tax will reach county coffers by the end of the month. Local officials called the new funding source a welcome infusion to lean budgets, but say the income falls far short of making up for state budget cuts in recent years. 

“At this point, any dollars that can be used for general operations are certainly welcome,” Joe Tuss, Montgomery County’s interim county administrator said. “We’ve gone through extremely difficult budget reductions over the last three years.” 

The tax payouts to Ohio’s 88 counties and to cities with more than 80,000 residents, including Dayton, are based on population. The Ohio Department of Taxation will make the distributions to jurisdictions quarterly on or before July 31, October 31, January 31 and April 30. 

Montgomery County and the city of Dayton stand to acquire the largest revenue slices in the region for the casino revenue tax. Both will receive $234,638 from the first distribution, followed by Warren County at $187,596, Greene County $142,149 and Miami County $89,784.59, according to the Ohio Department of Taxation. 

Dave Gully, the Warren County administrator said that because of the uncertainty of the funding, the revenue was not built into budget projections for this year... 

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