PEORIA, Ill. – The Peoria City Council has voted to wait two more weeks before making a final decision on amending the city’s fee structure for video gaming terminals.
The city had proposed lowering the fees, even though under a new state law, more of the fees would be paid by the establishment having the terminals, and not the terminal operator.
But, confusion persists.
“When we looked at all the other home rule communities…I will say what we determined is it’s a bit all over the board,” said Chrissie Kapustka, City Attorney, to council members Tuesday night. “Based on this new law, nobody is quite sure how to yet amend their ordinances for those that are planning to.”
Kapustka was answering a question about whether home rule cities are establishing sliding fee scales instead.
“We were able to determine that Carbondale has recently instituted such a fee, that all of their brand new users pay a minimum licensing fee,” said Kapustka. “Then, after that, it does go up substantially, based on the prior year’s revenue.”
The city is using the delay to provide more information to council members.
No matter what happens, the city is expected to lose revenue, as some council members say some businesses will struggle.
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