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Municipal council wants amendments to proposed casino bill
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Posted on Jun 16 2011
Saipan and Northern Islands Municipal Council chair Ramon B. Camacho enumerated proposed amendments should the Saipan and Northern Islands Casino Control Act of 2011 be enacted.
These amendments include the involvement of the council in the budget process, procedure, and allocation for casino revenue, allowing the Northern Islands mayor to appoint or recommend casino commission members who are subject to confirmation of the council, and allocating a percentage of the casino revenue to the Northern Marianas College.
“[W]e implore on the committees to engage in thoughtful and meaningful dialogue and deliberation over the fate [of] House Local Bill 17-44, by setting aside any special interests or undue influence or inclinations, and to support swift passage of this needed economic rescue plan provided the amendments enumerated above are part of the improvement to this proposal,” Camacho said in his letter to Rep. Joseph Palacios (R-Saipan) of the Judiciary and Government Operations committee and Rep. Ray Yumul (R-Saipan) of the Ways and Means committee.
According to Camacho, casinos was not an economic option for the island in the past since the local economy was thriving then.
“Today, the economic landscape has changed. It is no longer what it once was or used to be in the golden days,” he noted.
The council chair called the casino act as an “alternative solution” since “the status quo offers only miseries, sufferings, and more troubles in paradise.”
“If not an expanded gaming like casinos, then what alternatives do we have that would sustain our quality of life as we know it?” Camacho asked.
He also cited the lack of a strong and healthy tax base and the fall of the garment industry in the Commonwealth as among the reasons why the local economy has worsened over the years and why the casino industry should be allowed on Saipan.
“[T]he council stands ready to further discuss or deliberate any or all parts of the bill in any public forum,” Camacho added.
