Dauphin County Reforms Gaming Grant Program

Dauphin County, PA - Dauphin County announced today that it is instituting several reforms to the Local Share Municipal ("Gaming") Grant Program applicable to recent awardees and upcoming applicants. These reforms will improve accountability and oversight of public funds, streamline administrative processes, set clear strategic priorities, and improve public transparency.

Beginning with the 160 grant awards approved by the Board of Commissioners earlier this year, newly-strengthened contract language will empower the County to revoke grants if projects do not materialize, ensure the appropriate withholding of assets purchased with grant funds, and ultimately claw back funds if necessary.

Grant recipients will now also be required to:

• Certify that funds were used appropriately;
• Submit progress reports every six months detailing the project status, anticipated timing of future milestones, and how funds have been spent to date;
• Provide close-out reports;
• Disclose any conflicts of interest between or among the grantee and its contractors prior to receiving payments;
• And, if serious questions arise, submit a formal audit completed by a certified public accountant.
• Dauphin County is also overhauling the application and selection process for the next round of grant applications.

  Grant awards will be limited to only municipalities and non-profit organizations, and the County Commissioners are setting specific strategic targets for the allocation of available funds across several eligible categories:

• Health & Human Services: 20%
• Public Safety & Emergency Services: 35%
• Facilities, Infrastructure, & Transportation: 25%
• Other Projects in the Public Interest: 20%

• An updated scoring matrix is also being provided to the Gaming Advisory Board for its use when evaluating applicants:

• Alignment with Public Sector Strategic or Comprehensive Plans (5 Points)
• Connection to Hollywood Casino (10 Points)
• Leveraging of Other Funds (10 Points)
• Location (10 Points)
• Municipal, Community, & Partner Support (5 Points)
• Professional Support & Documentation (5 Points)
• Project Outcomes & Long-Term Impact (10 Points)
• Project Readiness & Timeline (10 Points)
• Project Scope, Budget, & Cost Effectiveness (15 Points)
• Public Need & Community Benefit (20 Points)
• Bonus: Pre-Application Workshop Participation (2 Points)

• And, for the first time, the application process and accompanying documents will be fully digitized, ensuring a more efficient process for applicants, awardees, and staff, while also improving transparency by making every application, an aggregation of the Gaming Advisory Board's scoring results, and the newly-required progress and close-out reports for each grant recipient available for the public to review online.

  Applications for the next round of gaming grants will become available online on August 1 and due by November 2.

  Background:
  

  Under state law originally passed in 2004, as a host county of a Category 1 horse track casino, Dauphin County receives 2% of slot machine revenue and 1% of interactive gaming revenue from Hollywood Casino. The County along with East Hanover Township, also receives a portion of a $10 million annual fee from Hollywood Casino.

  Dauphin County has historically received a total of between $12 million and $22 million per year in gaming revenue, half of which is retained by the County for its discretionary unrestricted use while the other half is distributed to eligible applicants and projects in the form of grants.