With their consent agenda, the City of Asheville is likely to adopt an ordinance to avail tax refunds to electronic gaming operations. At first, the state adopted legislation outlawing the operations, because they were, like pool halls, magnets for behaviors that brought down the tone of neighborhoods. People in the electronic gaming industry responded by ripping wide open a loophole in the legislation.
This left local governments in search of creative ways to legislate the abominations out of their borders. Many, like Asheville, adopted licensing fees that worked like indulgences: As long as government got a cut of the profits, the vice would be OK. Others resorted to zoning tactics.
The state, however, once again took matters into its own hands and declared the operations would be illegal starting December 1. This prompted their owners to petition the city for some kind of refund, since they would only be getting six month’s wear and tear on a full-year’s license. The city had charged $2500 per operation and $500 per machine per year. The city would have collected about $200,000 from the fees, but rebates would cut that in half. It was therefore suggested, in fairness, that the city pay back part of the proration representing the unused portion of the license. The city, after all, needs revenues to pay for the administration of this service.
