Township Official Calls Gaming Grant Review Process 'Dog and Pony Show'

, Lower Saucon Township representatives were on hand at the Northampton County Gaming Revenue and Economic Redevelopment Authority's Nov. 28 meeting, where one of them voiced displeasure over the manner in which the authority recently awarded restricted funds grants to municipalities that are contiguous to the City of Bethlehem--the host city for the Sands casino.

Restricted funds are awarded based upon proven impact to geographically contiguous municipalities in Northampton County, including Hellertown, Lower Saucon, Freemansburg, Bethlehem Township and Hanover Township.

Although , Cahalan said $12,000 that should have been awarded as part of a grant to fund the ongoing employment of a township police officer and the purchase of a new police cruiser was denied; a decision he questioned.

He said that when the township submits grant applications to other entities, it is common practice for them to notify township officials if a piece of information is missing or the application is otherwise deemed incomplete.

“If it's missing documents, let us know,” Cahalan said of the gaming grant applications.

Cahalan also questioned why an application for an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) that would have been used by volunteer fire companies to respond to incidents on local trails was “totally denied” even though it was “scored highly” by a committee that initially ranked the applications using a system of points.

Referring to the presentations municipalities must make in front of the authority after they submit their grant applications, he said, “Don't ask us to come here and put on a dog and pony show...(for) an application that's ultimately (going to be) denied.”

He said he does not understand why, after the ranking takes place, the authority puts the applications through another qualifying round that can negate an earlier high-ranking based upon the points.

“I think we've met the competitive requirement and the money should go to the contiguous municipalities,” Cahalan said. “It shouldn't have to go through more and more hoops.”

Authority member Joseph Kelly told Cahalan that he voted against awarding funds for the ATV purchase because he did not believe the township's application proved impact from the casino.

He also refuted Cahalan's claim that it is common practice for municipalities to be notified of missing documentation when grant applications are submitted to other boards or organizations, and said that in his experience, notification is not typically made after an application for funding is submitted.

Kelly said he believes it is a good thing that the authority fully evaluates grant applications after they are scored by the committee, because other considerations may emerge in the course of their discussions.

Cahalan, however, said he was “disturbed” by the fact that after the gaming authority awarded the most recent round of restricted funds grants to contiguous municipalities in October, approximately $800,000 in funding was left “still sitting on the table.”

That money will roll over to the next round of gaming authority grants—for so-called “uncommitted funds”--for which all county municipalities are eligible to apply.

According to the authority's solicitor Scott Allinson, of Tallman, Hudders & Sorrentino, there is no mandate that all or any of the restricted funds controlled by the authority be awarded to applicants during a given round or year.