MADISON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

JOHN M. BECKER
Chairman
MARK SCIMONE
County Administrator
CINDY URTZ
Clerk

138 N. Court St., PO Box 635

Wampsville, NY 13163
Phone: 315/366-2201
Fax: 315/366-2502

February 23, 2016

The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo

Governor of New York State
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224
Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman
Office of the Attorney General
The Capitol
Albany, NY 12224-0341
Majority Leader John J. Flanagan
New York State Senate
State Capitol Building, Room 330
Albany, NY 12247
Speaker Carl E. Heastie
New York State Assembly
Legislative Office Building 932
Albany, NY 12248

Dear Governor Cuomo, Attorney General Schneiderman, Majority Leader Flanagan, and
Speaker Heastie:
Madison County would like to clarify its intent in seeking the adoption of S5670 and A7844,
AN ACT to amend the executive law, the Indian law and the state finance law, in relation to the
sharing of revenue from gaming devices located within the county of Madison. The State of
New York recognizes that [w]hile legalization of casino gambling may provide significant
benefits , there is no question that casino legalization will impose significant burdens on the
infrastructure of its hosts. Accordingly, the State has adopted a policy of sharing 25 percent of
the revenues it receives pursuant to tribal-state compacts with host counties. Similarly, the
States recent Destination Resort Gaming legislation codifies its revenue sharing policy by
mandating similar mitigation payments to host municipalities for non-Indian casinos as a
condition of approval.

In June 2015, the Oneida Indian Nation opened the Yellow Brick Road Casino in Chittenango,
Madison County, New York. In the normal course, Madison County would receive 25 percent of
the revenues the State receives from the Nation from revenues generated at the Yellow Brick
Road Casino to mitigate impacts. This case, however, has been unnecessarily complicated by
misstatements about the historic 2013 Settlement Agreement that Governor Cuomo brokered
between Madison and Oneida Counties, the Nation, and the State.
We say unnecessarily complicated because S5670 and A7844 do not conflict with or modify
the Governors historic settlement in any way. The 2013 Settlement Agreement resolved several
contentious disputes regarding tribal land acquisition, property taxes, sales taxes, and regulatory
authority regarding land in Oneida and Madison Counties. Pursuant to that settlementand
consistent with the States revenue sharing policythe State committed to pay Oneida County
25 percent of the revenues it receives from the Nation from gaming, which at that time was
limited to the Turning Stone Resort & Casino located in that county. The 2013 Settlement
Agreement did not, however, anticipate the possibility of the Nation opening a casino in Madison
County and is silent with respect to that eventuality. Working with the Governors
representatives and our legislators, the County has proposed S5670 and A7844 to address that
oversight, so that it too can receive the same mitigation payments all other host counties receive.
It has recently been suggested that the legislation breaches the 2013 Settlement Agreement, but
that is not correct. The legislation Madison County has proposed does not amend the Settlement
Agreement itself, nor disrupt the commitments made therein. Specifically, S5670 and A7844
would not alter or reduce the revenues to which Oneida County is entitled: any payments to
Madison County would come exclusively from the States share of gaming revenue generated by
Oneida Nation gaming in Madison County only.
Frankly, it is unclear to us why there should be any local opposition to legislation that would
benefit the entire region. The host payment that Madison County seeks would be reinvested in
infrastructure and programs, which benefit not only County residents, but also the Nation and
neighboring jurisdictions.
Madison County reiterates its full commitment to the 2013 Settlement Agreement and stresses
that the legislation does nothing to alter the terms of that agreement. The County has pursued
S5670 and A7844 for the sole purpose of obtaining the host payments the State has concluded, as
a matter of policy, are necessary to offset infrastructure and other impacts associated with
gaming expansion. The County hopes that it can rely on your continued support and is happy to
address any questions or concerns about its proposal.
Sincerely,
Madison County Board of Supervisors
John Salka, Brookfield
Clifford Moses, Eaton
Eve Ann Shwartz, Hamilton
Darrin Ball, Lincoln
Richard Bargabos, Smithfield
Scott Henderson, Oneida
Lewis Carinci, Oneida

William Zupan, Cazenovia

David Jones, Fenner
James Goldstein, Lebanon
Ronald Bono, Madison
Alexander Stepanski, Stockbridge
John Reinhardt, Oneida

Daniel Degear, DeRuyter

Paul Walrod, Georgetown
Joseph John Pinard, Lenox
Roger Bradstreet, Nelson
John Becker, Sullivan
Joseph Magliocca, Oneida

Cc:

Anthony J. Picente, Jr., Oneida County Executive

Members, Oneida County Legislature
Alphonso David, Esq., Counsel to the Governor
Joseph Griffo, NYS Senate, 47th District
David Valesky, NYS Senate, 53rd District
Anthony Brindisi, NYS Assembly, 119th District
Marc W. Butler, NYS Assembly, 118th District
Ken Blankenbush, NYS Assembly, 117th District
William Magee, NYS Assembly, 121st District
Claudia Tenney, NYS Assembly, 101st District
Gerald Fiorini, Chairman, Oneida County Board of Legislators
Peter M. Rayhill, Esq., Oneida County Attorney
S. John Campanie, Esq., Madison County Attorney