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Trustee urges higher slot-machine fees as village considers liquor-license review
Summary
Trustees debated raising slot-machine and liquor-license fees after a trustee said Kincaid charges $25 per machine while neighboring towns charge up to $500 and take portions of profit; trustees asked staff to research comparable fees and legal sharing formulas before any change.
Trustee Louis Broccardo told the Village of Kincaid committee on July 28 that local gaming and liquor-license fees are far below neighboring communities and recommended raising them to help the village’s strained budget. "We are broke," Broccardo said, noting that Kincaid currently charges $25 per slot machine while, he said, Taylorville and Edinburg charge up to $500 and in some cases take a portion of machine profits.
Treasurer Beverly Merano clarified the village’s current fees, saying the liquor-license fee is $500 and the slot-machine fee is $25. Trustee Paso cautioned against raising fees in a way that would drive the town’s remaining small businesses to neighboring jurisdictions: "I don’t want to raise our revenue at the cost of say the little businesses we have left in town," she said. Trustees agreed to gather exact fee schedules and legal details from other municipalities and state guidance before making any change.
Why it matters: trustees linked the fee discussion to ongoing budget pressure and recent state-level tax changes that reduced local revenue, and they framed any increase as part of a deliberate review rather than an immediate hike. The board did not vote on fee changes; instead members asked staff to research statutory limits, comparable local charges, and how neighboring towns handle machine counts and revenue sharing.
