HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
COMMENTS – HB1742
My name is Sandra Robinson, and I serve as the Town Attorney for Dumfries.
The Town of Dumfries supports HB 1742, which, if enacted, will enable the Town to retain a larger portion of the tax revenue generated by the gaming facilities located solely within the borders of the Town of Dumfries: The Rose and Rosie’s Gaming Emporium.
Currently, the tax revenue generated by the Rose and Rosie’s must be shared with New Kent County.
This mandated sharing was a condition of the approval that was required to allow these facilities to operate in Dumfries, but the arrangement only leaves the Town with 25% of the gaming tax revenue generated within its borders.
The primary reason the Town seeks the reapportionment of these percentages is so that it can retain more revenue to invest more: in the development of the Town’s public infrastructure, and to enhance public services for its residents and local businesses.
By improving public services and infrastructure, the Town of Dumfries’s operations will be strengthened, and its residents and businesses will thrive better.
The Town also seeks to retain more of the gaming taxes generated within its borders because the current revenue-sharing percentage is, plain and simple, a transfer of wealth. Ironically, the wealth is being taken from a small diverse town and given to a large, less diverse, county: which also happens to be richer.
According to Data USA, the median income for New Kent County in 2022 was $113,102. For the same period, Dumfries’s median income was reported as $75,629.
The public policy once supporting the current allocation of gaming tax revenue is no longer compelling. It does not serve our notion of fairness; and it is not in the best interests of the Town of Dumfries residents.
On behalf of the Town of Dumfries, please vote to approve HB1742. Thank you.
HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE COMMENTS – HB1742 My name is Sandra Robinson, and I serve as the Town Attorney for Dumfries. The Town of Dumfries supports HB 1742, which, if enacted, will enable the Town to retain a larger portion of the tax revenue generated by the gaming facilities located solely within the borders of the Town of Dumfries: The Rose and Rosie’s Gaming Emporium. Currently, the tax revenue generated by the Rose and Rosie’s must be shared with New Kent County. This mandated sharing was a condition of the approval that was required to allow these facilities to operate in Dumfries, but the arrangement only leaves the Town with 25% of the gaming tax revenue generated within its borders. The primary reason the Town seeks the reapportionment of these percentages is so that it can retain more revenue to invest more: in the development of the Town’s public infrastructure, and to enhance public services for its residents and local businesses. By improving public services and infrastructure, the Town of Dumfries’s operations will be strengthened, and its residents and businesses will thrive better. The Town also seeks to retain more of the gaming taxes generated within its borders because the current revenue-sharing percentage is, plain and simple, a transfer of wealth. Ironically, the wealth is being taken from a small diverse town and given to a large, less diverse, county: which also happens to be richer. According to Data USA, the median income for New Kent County in 2022 was $113,102. For the same period, Dumfries’s median income was reported as $75,629. The public policy once supporting the current allocation of gaming tax revenue is no longer compelling. It does not serve our notion of fairness; and it is not in the best interests of the Town of Dumfries residents. On behalf of the Town of Dumfries, please vote to approve HB1742. Thank you.