Agenda - Council - 05/10/1994 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CASE INTRODUCTION AND FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 7, SECTION 7.61 ENTITLED "LAWFUL GAMBLING" OF THE CITY CODE OF RAMSEY, MINNESOTA By: Jessie L. Hart, Finance Officer Background: For the past se[veral months Councilmembers Beyer and Zimmerman and myself have been working on revisions to the section of the City Code that deals with the regulation and administration tpf lawful gambling in the City of Ramsey. Attached hereto is the amended ordinance which[ has been reviewed and approved by the Finance Committee and now forwarded to the City Count:il for introduction and first reading at tonights meeting. The objective ofithe revisions was to establish policies and procedures that made it easier for both ~he City,to regulate and the various non-profit organizations to comply with and to establish a 'regular cash fl~w for the City. We have structured the amendments to hopefully achieve these objectives. Som~. of the amendments consisted of "housekeeping" type revisions such as changing "charitable" to "l~wful" and changing all references to "licenses" to "premises permits." The major changes that iml~aCt the way the City administers lawful gambling and compliance by outside organizations are as follows: 7,61,05 Conditions This section originally contained item c which imposed a limit on the number of locations any one organization could operate in the City of Ramsey. This item has been eliminated, thus, wit~ City approval on premises permits, an.organization which meets all other stipulation~ in this Code section can operate unlimited 'sites in the City. A new item. c has been added which Iimits the maximum number of gambling devises (ie: pull-tabs; t¥-boards; or paddlewheels) at any one location to two of any one device. 7.61.09 Use of Lawful Gambling Net Profits This sectio.~ stipulates the amount of and basis for computing the required contribution to the City ba~ed on net profits. The original percentage was 10% (maximum allowed by the Statutes) of_net profits which is defined as profits less amounts expended for allowable expenses. ~ganizations operating in the City were allowed to deduct taxes (combined receipts; fe4teral wagering; distributors taxes; etc) in determining net profits even though they are not defined as allowable expenses. In addition, if a net loss occurred after the deduction oF. these taxes, the net loss was allowed to be carded forward to offset future net profits in a g~ven permit year. The proposed amendments to this section are to eliminate any direct reference to a particular percentage, ~ut rather indicate that a percentage will be established by Council resolution. We have also changed the wording to indicate that taxes will no longer be allowed as deductions '~hen determining net profits, nor will any net losses (which will occur very infrequently iunder this method) be carried forward at any time.