Sen. President Sweeney Offers Plan for Tackling Casino Crisis

State Sen. President Stephen Sweeney proposed a plan that would tackle Atlantic City’s financial crisis two days before a second summit on the issue was scheduled to be held.

Speaking at the Statehouse, Sweeney proposed using money currently set aside for Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) to pay off the City’s debt, The Press of Atlantic City reports.

He also proposed a casino property tax rate of $150 million for each of the next two years, according to the report.

The announcement came Monday night, ahead of Gov. Chris Christie’s scheduled appearance in Atlantic City for what is being termed as the “Atlantic City Summit Part II.”

Christie will speak publicly following the summit.

Christie met with about 30 political and business leaders in the first summit in September, but despite expressing the need to support Atlantic City, the Governor provided no details.

Four casinos in Atlantic City have already closed this year, and the Taj Mahal may become the fifth.

A total of 8,000 people have already lost their jobs as a result of the crisis, with another 3,100 possibly joining that list should the Taj Mahal close its doors.