Atlantic City PILOT measure still languishes

ATLANTIC CITY - This seaside resort may have dodged a bullet when North Jersey lawmakers urging casinos for their region ran out of time legislatively to get the issue on the November ballot this year.

But Atlantic City's problems are far from over. A controversial measure to allow the casinos to pay a lump sum to the city for the next 15 years instead of property taxes is still under review by Gov. Christie, more than a month after the Assembly and Senate passed it.

The measure - allowing a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) - was intended to help shore up the city's faltering property-tax base. Four casinos closed here last year, vaporizing 8,500 jobs and further cutting into the city's main revenue source - property taxes.

The city's assessed value has fallen from $11.4 billion in 2014 to $7.5 billion this year, largely due to the casinos' contraction.

Supporters say the PILOT - which stalled for months while the city's finances were reviewed by a Christie team - is once again in limbo, this time due to the governor. Christie has spent much time out of state in recent weeks to campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.

The governor technically has until Aug. 10 to sign the PILOT bill, or 45 days, but since the legislature is in summer recess, Christie has no deadline, his spokesman said.

Contacted Friday, Christie spokesman Brian Murray would say only that the bill was under review. He then cited a document listing what the governor has done for Atlantic City, including millions in state funding and creating a state-run tourism district.

That did little to appease Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian, who has said he can't set his city's annual budget without knowing what revenues will come from casinos. "This is certainly a critical part of it," Guardian said Friday. "It helps us to balance our budget, and brings stability to Atlantic City and Atlantic County."

The 15-year PILOT program would allow the eight Atlantic City casinos to pay a collective sum of $150 million annually for the first two years, and $120 million for each of the next 13 years, instead of individual property taxes. The legislation was one of five bills that made up the Atlantic City recovery package, sponsored by Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester) and other Democrats. "It's in the hands of the governor," said Vince Mazzeo (D., Atlantic), who sponsored the Assembly PILOT bill. "I want to see him sign it. . . . We are in a limbo situation."

Mazzeo conceded there might be other factors in play, not the least of which is Christie's White House run. "The aspirations of the governor do not always help New Jersey," Mazzeo said. "The focus should be on New Jersey and my district with Atlantic City right now."

Besides money, Atlantic City is also running short of time.

Assemblyman Chris A. Brown (R., Atlantic) said the drumbeat from North Jersey lawmakers for gaming will only intensify.

"Atlantic City does need more time to transition into a destination resort," he said at a town-hall meeting on the issue Monday. "The city is at a critical juncture."

Mazzeo agreed. "First and foremost, Atlantic City needs to stabilize its property taxes, which these bills would have done," he said. "Secondly, there has to be investment in Atlantic City. No one can live there, and businesses can't set up there with the property taxes the way they are."

Atlantic City and county taxpayers still don't know what they are on the hook for this year. "Until we know if the PILOT is signed, we do not know what the county municipal tax rates are because the bill does not provide enough detail, including the new tax base for Atlantic City, or how much Atlantic County will receive under the PILOT bill," said Keith Szendrey of the Atlantic County Board of Taxation.