Cook contacts auditor general seeking review of local share procedures
State Rep. Bud Cook has asked the auditor general to conduct an official review of the Local Share Account approval process both at the county level and when projects are submitted to the state Department of Community and Economic Development.
Cook announced recently he hopes to amend the law that designates gambling revenue from The Meadows Racetrack and Casino, eliminating the Local Share Account and聽 instead allocating it to 15聽school districts within Washington County for property tax relief.
Slot-machine gaming was introduced in 2007 at The Meadows, and since then, it has generated $88.7 for economic development, infrastructure, job training, community improvement and other projects in the public interest, such as removing blight.
Cook, R-West Pike Run Township, represents Mon Valley-area communities in Washington and Fayette counties. His proposal to shift local share funding to school districts for proportional property tax relief based on population would affect only Washington County.
As a member of the House Gaming Oversight Committee, Cook wrote this week to Auditor General聽Eugene DePasquale that since taking office in the 49th District in January 2017, he has formed an opinion 鈥渢hat reforms are desperately needed to ensure that the LSA grant program is held accountable, while guaranteeing the utmost integrity, fairness, and most importantly, open and transparent allocation of taxpayer dollars.鈥澛犅�
The legislator contends the LSA grant program does not require or maintain adequate voting records or meeting minutes regarding how the review committee votes, deliberates or discusses why the committee supports or rejects applicants鈥� funding requests.
Cook wants voting records, meeting minutes and correspondence to be maintained and provided by the LSA review committee, according to his letter.
He also wants committee members to complete and disclose ethics statements before they are appointed by the county commissioners.聽 聽
鈥淣o group, organization or business shall be eligible for a grant award if an individual on the LSA grant review committee has a conflict of interest,鈥� Cook wrote.
When members of the committee have, in the past, requested funding for their organizations, they have told the Observer-Reporter they did not participate in deliberations affecting them.聽
Cook also wants to see turnover in the committee鈥檚 membership, with terms limited to a single sequential year.聽
Once the committee recommends a list of projects, the county commissioners review it, vote on it and forward it to DCED for final approval.聽
鈥淲e have received the representative鈥檚 request and are reviewing it,鈥� wrote Gary Miller, DePasquale鈥檚 press secretary, in an email.聽
Although Cook began seeking co-sponsors for his legislation in mid-April, it did not appear Wednesday afternoon from the House of Representatives鈥� website that it has gained traction.
Meanwhile, Jodi L. Noble, secretary of the Washington County Association of Township Officials, in an email sent to local governments and county Chief Clerk Cindy Griffin, noted the organization adopted a resolution opposing changes to the method of distributing the local share.
鈥淲e feel strongly that the current system works and has caused over $32 million to be invested in economic development initiatives and water and sewer expansion to serve as development catalysts,鈥� Noble wrote.聽
鈥淭his has strengthened and grown our respective tax bases.鈥�
The organization asked townships, cities and boroughs to adopt similar resolutions and send them to their state representative and senator.
Cook鈥檚 proposal would not affect a $25,000 base and per capita allocation to 64 municipalities within Washington County.
North Strabane Township, as the casino鈥檚 host community, has a separate revenue stream, and Green Hills Borough, with a population of just 29 in the 2010 U.S. Census, doesn鈥檛 reach a threshold set several years ago when the process was last revised legislatively.