Grant Awards to Municipalities have Reached $23 Million Since 2015
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) is pleased to announce the release of the 2021 applications and guidelines for the Community Mitigation Fund (CMF) grant program. The required forms and submission instructions are available here. Applications from municipalities and other qualified governmental entities seeking mitigation funds are due by January 31, 2021.
The Massachusetts Legislature legalized casino gaming to produce broad-based economic development, including jobs and revenue. The Legislature also established an equally important mandate to mitigate unintended impacts associated with the arrival of casino gaming. To that end, the law created the Community Mitigation Fund to support communities and governmental entities in offsetting costs related to the construction and operation of gaming facilities.
Since 2015, the MGC has issued approximately $23 million in funding to advance needs in transportation, non-transportation planning, workforce development, and public safety for municipalities and government entities located in the vicinity of the casinos.
According to the statute, the Commission will issue funds to assist host and surrounding communities, including “but not limited to, communities and water and sewer districts in the vicinity of a gaming establishment, local and regional education, transportation, infrastructure, housing, environmental issues and public safety, including the office of the county district attorney, police, fire, and emergency services.” Also, the Commission may distribute funds to a governmental entity or district other than a single municipality to implement a mitigation measure that affects more than one community.
“The MGC extends its gratitude to all those who have participated and who will participate in the Community Mitigation Fund’s highly collaborative mitigation planning and innovative programming,” said MGC Chair Cathy Judd-Stein. “On behalf of the MGC, we look forward to continuing work with the communities and other interested parties to help the Commonwealth achieve the goals of the Expanded Gaming Act.”
A Community Mitigation Fund review team will conduct a comprehensive review of all applications to ensure compliance with the 2021 Guidelines and make recommendations to the Commission. After deliberation on those recommendations, the Commission will vote to award grant monies by July 2021.