Concerned that legalized gambling contributes to crime, the Allen County Commissioners say they oppose location of a casino in Fort Wayne.
In a letter dated today to local businessman John Popp and the “Say No To CasiNo” organization, Commissioners Bill Brown, Nelson Peters and Linda Bloom said they agree a casino “would have a detrimental influence on our community, and in our opinion, the benefits in the form of tax revenue, which may be considerable, are more than offset by the longer-term additional burden on local government services and the overall costs to the community including increased crime, bankruptcies and other social costs.”
Although the Indiana General Assembly could take no action on Mayor Tom Henry's request for a vote on the issue until next year at the earliest, legislators will study the issue this summer, and the letter is intended to influence their deliberations.
Echoing concerns expressed earlier by County Prosecutor Karen Richards, the letter noted that the total amount of property taxes collected by the county represents only 72 percent of what the county spends on criminal justice and public safety - an expense they fear would increase should a casino come to Fort Wayne.
“As the only representatives for residents living in unincorporated Allen County, we recognize that 91 percent of those held in the Allen County Jail were arrested in the city of Fort Wayne. Those in unincorporated Allen County pay a disproportionate amount of the costs for criminal justice/public safety compared with the amount of crime actually taking place in places like Hoagland, Grabill and Poe,” they wrote. “It could be argued that allowing a casino to locate in Fort Wayne is tantamount to raising taxes for unincorporated Allen County.”
In March, Henry released two studies showing that, while a casino could generate millions of dollars and thousands of jobs in Fort Wayne, it could also contribute to gambling addictions.
Brown said he opposes even a referendum “because our ‘brand' isn't to be a casino town. We're evolving into a jewel of the Midwest.”
