File photo by Howard Owens.
Byron Brown, president and CEO of Western Regional Off-Track Betting, is optimistic that the corporation's lobbying efforts will lead to legislation that reduces the tax OTB pays to the state from 49% to 44%.
That would amount, at current cash flow, in an estimated $4.5 million in additional revenue, Brown said.
The language for adjustment will be part of the Assembly's version of the 2025-26 budget bill. The Senate produces its own budget bill, and then the two chambers meet to negotiate a final budget bill.
"We feel good that we've done everything that we could do, that we got a good audience from the governor's office, the Assembly and the Senate, and we are hopeful that when the negotiations are concluded, that our requests will be part of the budget," Brown said.
The additional revenue will help the corporation on multiple fronts, Brown said, and those initiatives were part of the pitch to state legislators to approve the request.
"We explained that it was a matter of equity and fairness that would give us the ability to increase distributions to 17 member municipalities in Western New York, it would give us the ability to right size the salaries of our employees, and also to address the very high cost of family health care for our employees," Brown said.
Health insurance costs seem to be a top priority for OTB executives.
Currently, a family health insurance plan is $3,325 monthly for an OTB employee. If hired after Jan. 1, 2012, the employee contribution is 72 percent, or $2,394. Employees hired before that date pay only 5% of the premium.
The OTB would also be able to set aside some money to expand the hotel.
"(The hotel expansion project) projected to produce significantly more revenue for Western Regional off track betting Corporation, which would give us the ability to, again, not just increase our distributions to municipalities, but also increase the amount of money that we provide to the state of New York," Brown said.
In November, the board voted to delay a planned expansion of the hotel because of increased costs. The estimated cost provided by architects was $16 million and $16.5 million, which is about $4 million more than the original cost estimate.
The $4.5 million retained by OTB, if passed, is .0000018% of an anticipated $250 billion budget.
