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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media contact:
Bob Tenenbaum
(614) 429-5903
btenenbaum@themilenthalgroup.com
OHIO FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE
ANNOUNCES SUPPORT FOR STATE ISSUE 2
--Cites
benefits to cities and counties by speeding casino development --
COLUMBUS, April 21, 2010 –The Fraternal
Order of Police of Ohio – the state’s largest labor organization for law
enforcement officers – announced today its support for State Issue 2 on
the May 4 statewide ballot. Issue 2 would authorize a change in the
location of the proposed Columbus casino.
“These are tough economic times for Ohio’s cities
and counties,” said Mark Drum, FOP-Ohio treasurer and a retired member
of the Delaware Police Department. “The sooner all four Ohio casinos are
underway, the sooner Ohio counties, cities and school districts will
begin to see the benefits of hundreds of millions of dollars each year
in casino tax revenue.”
In 2009, the FOP of Ohio was a strong supporter of
the Constitutional amendment that authorized casinos in Cleveland,
Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo, primarily because communities all over
the state were struggling with declining revenues that forced them to
face cuts in their public safety forces.
“Passing State Issue 2 helps to meet that problem
by ensuring the fastest possible distribution of the estimated $643
million a year in casino tax revenues, with the vast majority going
directly to all 88 counties, our eight largest cities, and every school
district in Ohio,” Drum said. “A significant portion of that money can
be used by local officials in the future to fund vital services such as
fire and police protection.”
“Our members – and millions of other Ohioans – are
also tired of seeing more than $1 billion a year leaving the state as
our citizens travel to casinos in neighboring states. It’s time we
started keeping that money – and the tax revenues it produces – here in
Ohio," Drum said.
He also noted that 2 percent of the casino tax
revenue – an estimated $13 million a year – is earmarked for state law
enforcement training programs at a time when many local law enforcement
agencies are being forced to cut spending on training.
State Issue 2 is an amendment to the Ohio
Constitution that would allow a change in the location of the Columbus
casino authorized by voters last November – moving it to the site of an
abandoned General Motors/Delphi Automotive plant on Columbus’ West Side.
Issue 2 would have no other impact on casino gaming and would not affect
the casinos authorized in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Toledo.
Penn National Gaming, Inc. – which will own and
operate the Columbus casino – agreed to a location change after
listening to Columbus residents, political leaders and organizations
urging an alternate location. The Ohio General Assembly – with strong
bipartisan support – placed the proposal on the May ballot.
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Paid for by Vote Yes
on Issue 2, Don Leach, treasurer, 1965 Lake Shore Dr., Columbus OH 43204 |