Three Atlantic City casinos closing would force thousands of
unemployed workers to move to neighboring states with thriving gaming
industries — a move officials say is already affecting their municipalities’
economy.
About 6,100 jobs are on the line if the Revel, Showboat and
Trump Plaza all close this year. Those displaced employees will have the choice
of either entering unemployment or uproot their families and move to states
like Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware.
And, although the casinos haven't officially closed yet, it
looks like casino workers are already jumping the gun.
“People are leaving this area — Atlantic County — and going
to other states to seek employment and getting hired right away because they
have the license and experience,” said Jesse L. Tweedle, mayor of
Pleasantville. “When these casinos open [in states like Maryland], they’ll want
to be ready to go, and they don't have to wait for background checks.”
According to the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey in
Galloway, about 500 Pleasantville residents work in Atlantic City — a number
Tweedle said he’s already seen decline based on the number of building code
enforcement applications.
“People are moving out of Pleasantville to find employment
in other states — school, employment and residency are going down,” Tweedle
said. “There goes your ratables. People are walking away from their homes, and
homes are being foreclosed on.”
Tweedle also said Pleasantville's investors are already
hesitant about investing in the area.
“What set me back was the fact that my investors in projects
are hesitant on moving forward,” Tweedle said. “That’s the kind of impact these
investors [are looking at]. Why invest on homes when people are losing their
jobs — and these were people who could afford it."
With the intent of laying off thousands of employees,
Tweedle also said there is a question on who will be buying the houses.
"They don’t have a job and they won’t buy these homes,
so investors are standing back now and taking a look at what’s going on with
Atlantic City," he said.
Tax increase
New Jersey's Local Finance Board recently approved Atlantic
City's $261 million budget, which includes a 29-percent tax increase, according
to the Press of Atlantic City.
James "Sonny" McCullough, mayor of Egg Harbor
Township, said that's troublesome because the rising taxes will come at a time
when people are either receiving less income or no income at all, impacting the
entire economy, including real estate values.
"With the devaluation of casino assets in Atlantic
City, that forces the county to take that share that's gone and reassign it all
of the communities outside of Atlantic City," McCullough said, "which
means taxes are going to go up because the county is going to have to provide
more services, and that means someone's got to pay for them."
Tweedle said a factor in why the tax increase is so high is
because of the loss of people who will pay taxes. In the last year, Pleasantville
has already lost $20 million worth in ratables, a result of people moving out
or deciding to take their businesses elsewhere.
“Why would people start a business in Pleasantville next to
Atlantic City when casinos are closing down? You’re losing your potential of
people that will patronize,” Tweedle said.
The future
At the moment, the Atlantic County Mayors Association is
working on initiatives to bring seminars into the individual municipalities, in
an attempt to educate people on what jobs are available and what to do if and
when unemployment runs out.
"I want to enlighten my residents on what type of
services are available that may assist them when they're going this crisis of
losing their jobs," McCullough said. "Does it get down to food stamp
or assistance on mortgages? It's all the different aspects of what you need to
run a family."
Tweedle said Pleasantville doesn't have an abundance of
high-paying jobs.
"The job industry in Pleasantville is not that
lucrative, so it’s going to hurt the people that were working in Atlantic City.
Now they won’t have a job, and we have to try and get them back into the
workforce. They live here, but who’s going to pay the taxes? You’re going to
see more foreclosures.”
As to where the affected workers can go if they can’t afford
housing in Pleasantville, the mayor said they’ll most likely be forced to move
somewhere where there’s low-income housing projects like in nearby Cumberland
County.
Source: Philadelphia
Business Journal
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