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City outlines Alliance repayment plan, transformation fund and gaming-tax allocations
Summary
Staff said negotiations aim to unwind Alliance and return about $2 million to the city, splitting funds between a proposed transformation lending fund and gaming-tax resources; staff also discussed projected casino revenue and one-time gaming-tax funding for public-safety attrition.
City operations staff told the finance committee they are negotiating to unwind an outside entity called Alliance and expect to receive unspent funds back to the city.
Brian Caputo, the city's director of operations, said the city originally paid Alliance about $3 million and that not all of the money had been spent; staff estimate roughly $2 million would be returned and that the administration plans to allocate $1 million to a newly proposed transformation fund and $1 million to the gaming tax fund. Caputo said the $1 million from the gaming tax fund would be paired with projected gaming revenue to provide $2 million in support to ACCA (as referenced in the meeting record).
Why it matters: Committee members pressed for clarity on projections tied to the new Aurora casino. An alderman flagged a reduction in the budgeted gaming-tax estimate (from about $5.25 million in the original budget to an initial $3 million projection) and asked whether projections assume a half-year of operations in the casino—irst year.
Transformation fund and uses: Chief of staff Shannon Cameron described the transformation fund as a revolving pool intended to provide lower-than-market-rate lending for small businesses, PACE lending and SSA capitalization, and to support housing financing. "Offering financing at a lower rate ... and then that is very fairly guaranteed, and then it cycles back in that fund," Cameron said, explaining the goal of creating sustainable lending capacity.
Gaming-tax uses for public safety: Staff also described a $2 million gaming-tax transfer intended as a one-time measure to ease attrition and transition costs among sworn police and fire personnel in 2026. Staff said positions themselves are gone but the transferred resources are meant to cover salaries and compensation during a multi-month trade-out period.
Provenance: The Alliance unwind and allocation plan, transformation fund description and the use of gaming tax funds for attrition were discussed in committee; staff committed to provide supporting documentation and updated revenue projections to the committee.
