The state of New Jersey have been trying for months now to come to an agreement when it comes to rescuing Atlantic City. The gambling town has been struggling for some time now, having seen four of twelve casinos close in 2014 and the remaining casinos struggling to meet tax payments and earn revenues. Lawmakers have finally been able to come to a resolution, with the State Assembly and the Senate coming to a compromise as to how to help Atlantic City.
A fight on what to do took place for months as Atlantic City tried to figure out how to handle their finances before the state decided to take over. The Associated Press is reporting that a deal was agreed to yesterday, giving the city five months to create a plan for budget balancing. The plan needs to consist of five years of financial plans.
A previous proposal by lawmakers would have given the city months to fix the finances, with the city being $550 million in debt and having a $100 million budget deficit. Vincent Prieto, the Assembly Speaker, stated that the elected officials of Atlantic City will now have the chance to right the ship. With the deal, the city will be given a load of $60 million and this will include the option to provide employees of the city with early retirement.
The package should now be heading to the desk of Governor Chris Christie to be signed into law. There is no guaranteed that Christie will give his approval especially since Christie has now approved of any of the measures proposed for rescuing the city. Don Guardian, the Mayor of Atlantic City is in approval of the measure, which will see the city given $120 million from the casinos as a payment plan instead of tax payments begin made.
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