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Lake Elmo updates lawful-gambling code but council declines to earmark proceeds for sheriff
Summary
The Lake Elmo City Council adopted an updated lawful-gambling ordinance and authorized publication of its summary, but after debate the council voted down a motion to allocate estimated gambling revenues to the Washington County Sheriff’s contract; the city has budgeted $20,000 in tentative revenue for 2026 and has collected about $6,500 so far.
Lake Elmo officials on Tuesday adopted updates to the city’s lawful-gambling ordinance to align local rules with state law and industry guidance, but stopped short of committing gambling receipts to law enforcement.
Finance Coordinator Kramer told the council the ordinance, originally adopted in 1997, contained outdated provisions and stricter local limits than state statute. Kramer said staff revised definitions (including the ordinance’s “trade area”), removed antiquated liquor-gambling language and a 3% grocery-suites requirement, and eliminated a premise-permit fee the city had not been enforcing. Kramer also said the city has created a dedicated gambling fund and tentatively budgeted $20,000 in gambling revenue for 2026; to date the city has received about $6,500, including a…
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