Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The: City, county each to get extra $1 million in casino payments;

he Forest County Potawatomi on Monday announced what could be a one-time boost in casino payments to the city and the county, with each getting about $4.9 million under a revenue-sharing deal with the tribe.

That amounts to an increase of slightly more than $1 million each to Milwaukee County and the City of Milwaukee over the payouts last year.

Local officials struggling with tight finances greeted the extra cash as a windfall.

"We're in hard times, so anything helps," said Craig Kammholz, director of financial services in the Milwaukee comptroller's office.

County Budget Director Stephen Agostini said, "It's a pleasant surprise." The county recently approved $10 million in emergency spending cuts in hopes of avoiding a third consecutive end-of-year budget deficit.

The joy could be short-lived: A cut in local casino payments next year could largely offset the increase.

The boost this year was an anomaly, arising mostly because of the tribe's decision to withhold temporarily the $43.6 million it owed the state this year under terms of its gambling compact, Potawatomi spokesman Ken Walsh said. That in turn artificially boosted the net revenue figure the local payments are based upon, he said.

The tribe is in negotiations with the state on revising that 2003 deal, pushing for a lower annual payment because of two court cases that forced the tribe to delay expansions. But the state has not forgiven that debt.

"We have not excused any liability at this point," said Sean Dilweg, a top official with the Department of Administration.

If the tribe ultimately agrees to pay something close to what it owes the state for this year, that sum would be tacked onto its 2006 state payment, he said.

And that would reduce local payments next year by lowering the net casino revenue figure on which those payments are based.

Walsh declined to disclose the casino's overall revenue.

Based on the sums paid to the city and the county, the tribe took in $327.7 million during fiscal 2004-'05, according to Kammholz. The city and the county each get 1.5% of the tribe's Milwaukee casino revenue.

If the tribe had paid the state the $43.6 million before the local payments came due, that would have reduced the net revenue figure to $284.1 million, about a $19 million increase over the previous year.

Walsh said the casino's gambling revenue rose, contributing a bit to the boost in payments to the city and the county. The casino had a modest increase in visitors, according to the tribe.

The county and the city will place the surplus revenue in contingency funds to aid the bottom line, officials said.

Mayor Tom Barrett and County Executive Scott Walker praised the tribe for its commitment to the area.

Tribal Attorney General Jeff Crawford said, "The partnership between the Potawatomi and Milwaukee not only creates thousands of jobs for area residents, but also directly helps the Milwaukee taxpayer."

Other factors could influence the size of the local casino payments in the future, including whether the Potawatomi may proceed with a $240 million Milwaukee casino expansion and the fate of an $808 million Kenosha casino development proposed by the Menominee tribe.

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Dave Umhoefer and Greg J. Borowski of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.

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