Waterloo leaders have decided to allow some of the Isle of Capri Casino revenue to be used in surrounding counties. Members of the Waterloo city council voted to allow projects in Bremer, Butler, Buchanan, Grundy, Tama and Chickasaw counties to receive up to ten-percent of the Black Hawk County Gaming Association’s profits in exchange for increased funding for local property tax relief. Don Hoth, association president, described how organizations within the counties would apply for the funding.
Hoth says non-profit groups in the surrounding counties can make applications to the association for funding just like agencies within Black Hawk County. Under the new ruling, funds will be distributed over the course of four funding cycles throughout the year.
The counties will share up to $600,000 for local projects, while Black Hawk County will get between four-and-a-half and five-and-a-half-million dollars per year. Hoth believes the move will work to the advantage of the county gaming association.
Hoth says: "We think that a lot of people in other counties surrounding Black Hawk County are going to our casino and we want to attract people, not only to the casino but to our shopping, our hotels, our restaurants. We think it’s only fair that we share the revenues from the casino with those counties." The ruling comes just days before the scheduled Saturday grand opening of the new Isle of Capri Casino in Waterloo.