Questions loom for town's casino plan

The more Middleborough officials examine Governor Deval Patrick's plan for three commercial casinos in different regions, the warier they become about what that route would mean for the town and its casino partner, the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe.

The governor's plan takes away local and tribal control over the casino operation, they say, and could undermine the lucrative $11 million deal the town has negotiated with the Wampanoag.

"What's happening here is the state is trying to get all of the chips and leave none of the chips for Middleborough," said Selectman Adam Bond, who helped negotiate a lucrative casino deal for the town this summer with Wampanoag leaders.

Under the governor's proposal, now before lawmakers, the state would put three commercial casino licenses out to bid. Patrick has said a Native American tribe would get special consideration for one of those licenses, and he has expressed hope that the Wampanoag will bid for it.

But the tribe is pursing the alternate route of having its land in Middleborough made part of a federal trust. It could then set up a casino as a sovereign operation, exempt from taxation and state regulation.

Tribal spokeswoman Amy Lambiaso said getting the land into trust, rather than pursuing a commercial casino license, is the tribe's preferred course - "the best situation and the one they will pursue."

Tribe leaders believe their application for a federal trust, recently filed, will take about 18 months, but could take considerably longer.

If the tribe were to operate a casino under a commercial license, it would probably negate its original agreement with the town, approved by Middleborough voters at a historic outdoor Town Meeting in July. Under that deal, tribe leaders agreed to pay the town about $11 million annually for hosting the casino.

The pact was negotiated with the understanding that the money would be in lieu of property and other taxes. But with a commercial license, the tribe would have to pay taxes.

An official close to the tribe agreed that if the governor's plan goes through, it's a "whole new ballgame."

"To me, there are a lot of unanswered questions," Middleborough Selectman Wayne Perkins said of the governor's proposal. "I'm not convinced the tribe will buy into it. I honestly believe if the tribe moves forward with placing its land in trust and honors its agreement with Middleborough, it will be the best thing for both of us."

Bond agreed. "Right now, the agreement calls the tune, but with the commercial license, it would be the state calling the tune, so the state could impact what we get," Bond said.

Bond warned that the town could get far less if the deal with the Wampanoag is scrapped, and a casino is built as a commercially licensed establishment.

"The property taxes on the casino could give the town $10 million, but what if the Legislature only allows taxes on part of the land? The state could impact what we get. . . . This is a battle over who controls the transaction."

The provision in the governor's proposal that would require communities targeted for casinos to take ballot votes before bidding began on commercial licenses also bothers Bond - although he was confident voters would again support hosting a casino.

"It puzzles me," Bond said. "If he is going to take a ballot vote, it should be done statewide. If the people of Massachusetts want casinos, then the governor, along with his economic experts, should decide where they should be located. Otherwise, it's kind of haphazard. You could have a region where nobody wants a casino."

Bond said he believes the state's commercial license plan will become even less attractive to the tribe as it continues through the legislative process, and more requirements are added. "They already have a vote and an agreement. Why go out, campaign, and do it a second time?" He added that the required vote probably would delay the commercial license process even more, which works to the tribe's advantage.

Casino foes, meanwhile, are pleased that the Middleborough deal may be going off track. Richard Young, president of the anticasino group, Casinofacts, is particularly pleased with the ballot vote requirement for host communities that was included in the governor's plan. That would mean Middleborough would need to vote again, since its vote for the casino was done at a Town Meeting.

"I think that it's right the community will get a ballot vote," Young said. "My biggest problem this summer was there was never any forum where people in Middleborough could discuss their differences. Instead, it was allowed to boil by the selectmen, who kept everything secretive." He noted the casino agreement was made public only four days before it had to be ratified.

"A lot of people voted for the casino agreement at the July Town Meeting because they had been browbeaten into it," Young said. He said voters may have overwhelmingly approved the agreement, but they voted that same day, through a final nonbinding warrant article, against hosting a casino in town.

Young's one complaint was that the governor's provision doesn't adequately address the issue of regional impact. "The casino site in Middleborough affects more people in Bridgewater than it does in our town," he said. "In fact, town after town around Middleborough has been standing up against the casino."

Young said getting consensus on a casino from a single community essentially "creates a rogue town vs. its neighbors."

Christine Wallgren can be reached at CLWallgren@aol.com.