Casinos paying for impacts

A few years ago, when the Berry Creek Rancheria was proposing to build a new hotel at the site of its Gold Country Casino, in Oroville, fire officials objected, saying they didn’t have a ladder tall enough for the building, potentially putting guests at risk. But the tribe is a “sovereign nation,” doesn’t have to follow local building regulations and built the hotel anyway.

For a while, relations between the tribe and the county were, well, prickly. But for the past three years, the Special Distribution Fund set up by the state to distribute a portion of casino revenues to local agencies affected by the casinos’ presence has smoothed the rift. Nearly $1 million went out in 2004 and $1.2 million in 2005, and last week the County of Butte Indian Gaming Local Community Benefit Committee announced that nearly $2 million was to be distributed in 2006.

The Oroville Fire Department, for example, will receive funds to help staff an aerial-ladder truck it purchased a couple of years ago. The ladder is able to reach “95 percent of the way to the top of the casino hotel,” reported Chief Dave Pittman.

The state of California collects the money from the casinos in a complicated formula that depends on the number of slot machines they have, explained Chris Navarro, the county’s compliance officer. Butte County Fire was awarded a total of $591,956.68 for its stations in Palermo and Kelly Ridge. El Medio Fire Protection District was awarded $288,075, and the Oroville Fire Department $64,151.04.

In addition, the District Attorney’s Office will receive $242,037 to continue its white-collar-crimes unit; the Sheriff’s Office will receive $308,236 for its Tribal Resource Officer program, the Sheriff’s Activities League and Youth Outreach program; and the Oroville Police Department will receive $32,000 for additional staffing.

Other funds went to improve pedestrian crossings, control West Nile virus and offer youth programs. The money came from Gold Country Casino ($883,454) and Feather Falls Casino ($1,115,000), owned by the Mooretown Rancheria.

Agencies must apply for the funds, and the projects they propose must address Indian gaming impacts. Navarro lauded the better relations between the tribes and local agencies. “One thing I’ve seen evolve,” she said, “is a lot more collaboration between the Sheriff’s Office, the District Attorney’s Office, other agencies and tribal groups.”