Massachusetts Gaming Commission announces Community Mitigation Fund

The Community Mitigation Fund is seeking applications to support communities and governmental entities in offsetting impact costs related to the construction and operation of gaming facilities.

Donor Name: Massachusetts Gaming Commission

State: Massachusetts

County: All Counties

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline (mm/dd/yyyy): 01/31/2022

Grant Size: $21.0 million

Details:

The Expanded Gaming Act created the Community Mitigation Fund (“CMF”) to help communities and other entities offset costs related to the construction and operation of a gaming establishment. For 2022, the following grant categories are available for communities:

Specific Impact Grant;
Public Safety Grant;
Community Planning Grant;
Transportation Planning Grant;
Transportation Construction Grant;
Workforce Development Grant;
Tribal Gaming Technical Assistance Grant; and
Emergency Mitigation Grant.

Funding Information

For CY 2022, the Commission plans to allocate $21.0 million between the two regions and the Category 2 facility as follows:
- Region A $12.55 million
- Region B $7.95 million
- Category 2 $0.5 million
Category 2 grants will be split equally between Region A and Region B. If the $0.5 million is not necessary for Category 2 grants, more spending would be available for Region A and Region B.

Eligibility Criteria

M.G.L. c. 23K, § 61 and the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s (Commission) regulations identify a range of eligible entities including, but not limited to:communities in the vicinity of the gaming establishment including:
- host and surrounding communities; each community that entered into a nearby community agreement; any community that petitioned to be a surrounding community; and each community that is geographically adjacent to a host community;
- water and sewer districts in the vicinity of a gaming establishment;
- local and regional agencies involved in education, transportation, infrastructure, housing and environmental issues; and public safety agencies, including the office of the county district attorney, police, fire, and emergency services.
Applications involving a mitigation measure impacting only one community shall only be submitted by the authorized representatives of the community itself. Governmental entities within communities such as redevelopment authorities or non-regional school districts shall submit applications through such community rather than submitting applications independent of the community.
Private non-governmental parties may not apply for Community Mitigation Funds. Governmental entities may apply to the Commission for funds to mitigate impacts provided that the funding is used for a “public purpose” and not the direct benefit or maintenance of a private party or private parties. The Commission strongly encourages applicants to ensure that the impacts are directly related to the gaming facility and that the public purpose of such mitigation is readily apparent. The Commission will not fund any applications for assistance for non-governmental entities.
Any governmental entity seeking funding for mitigation is required to ensure that any planned use of funding is in conformity with the provisions of the Massachusetts Constitution and with all applicable laws and regulations, including but not limited to, Municipal Finance Law and public procurement requirements.