Awarding Of Casino License Could Help Put Springfield Budget In The Black

WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Paul Tuthill

Published April 8, 2014 at 4:56 PM EDT

Budget-writers for the city of Springfield, Massachusetts must work to close a $21.5 million dollar gap.

Springfield’s Chief Administration and Finance Officer T.J. Plante said through a combination of finding additional revenue sources, tapping into reserves, and cutting spending the city will come up with a balanced budget in time for the new fiscal year on July 1^st.

"We are going to do everything we can to avoid service cuts and layoffs," said Plante.

One possible source of new revenue for the city is the proposed MGM casino. If the Massachusetts Gaming Commission awards a license to MGM by the end of May the city will receive $3 million under the terms of its casino host community agreement.

New England News

Paul Tuthill

The record-setting tenure of Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno. The 2011 tornado and its recovery that remade the largest city in Western Massachusetts. The fallout from the deadly COVID outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers Home. Those are just a few of the thousands and thousands of stories WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill has covered for WAMC in his nearly 17 years with the station.

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