Warren County officials and the owners of a new racino on Ohio 63 are debating whether to tax the winnings of gamblers to help pay for the infrastructure improvements and increased services that will be needed by the complex.

The groups met Wednesday to discuss financial aspects of the racino — a combination of a race track and casino. County commissioners are adamant that the racino pay for itself, including the improvements to the area necessitated by its construction and the influx of traffic it’s expected to bring, and a winnings tax might be one way to do that.

But the racino’s owners argued such a tax might put them at a competitive disadvantage with other gambling venues in the area.

“It’s not a direct cost to us, but a direct cost to our customers,” said Ron Sultemeier, director of new property planning and projects with Delaware North Companies Gaming and Entertainment. “It could be part of what causes them to chose to come here rather than go somewhere else.”

Sultemeier said he believed the major planned casinos in Cincinnati and Columbus had a winnings tax imposed on them, but was unsure whether the planned racino in Dayton — probably the most direct competitor with the Lebanon Raceway — would have one or not.

The city of Monroe and Turtlecreek Twp. are in the process of creating a Joint Economic Development District around the area where the racino will be located. In a JEDD, a city agrees to provide infrastructure services to a piece of land that is not within the city’s confines; in return, both the city and township where the land is located can collect revenue from the income tax on jobs created on the site.

Township and city officials also want to impose a tax on gambling winnings.

“There will be a lot of jobs coming there, and it will become a more urbanized district, so I think it is appropriate to tax employees,” said Commissioner Dave Young. “To the same degree, are we trying to milk everyone who comes in there for one more dollar (through a winnings tax)? It doesn’t sit particularly well with me.”

Young noted that the federal government doesn’t let gamblers write off their loses, so he questioned whether local governments should be allowed to tax winnings.

Monroe city manager Bill Becker said the racino would create a greater demand on city services, such as police, fire and EMS.

“We’ve been looking at the services that will need to be provided and want to make sure that cost of those services is being adequately provided as well,” Becker said.

Young conceded that the racino “could not be a net cost to the local community” and floated the option of setting a threshold where winnings would be taxed.

Miami Valley Gaming and Racing, LLC, a joint venture of Delaware North Companies Gaming and Entertainment and Churchill Downs Inc., is in the process of purchasing 120 acres of land near the intersection of Ohio 63 and Union Road in Turtlecreek Twp. for a racino, or combination horse track and video slot casino, from the state of Ohio.

The $175 million facility is expected to have 2,500 video lottery terminals. Owners have said it will bring $24 million annually to the area. The racino is estimated to employ 700 people including 400 full-time jobs.

County officials said the increased traffic would necessitate a $2 million to $2.5 million upgrade to roads around the area. In particular, plans call for an extension of Gateway Boulevard to the north of Ohio 63 with the aim of alleviating traffic along Union Road.

The county wants to realign Union Road so that it sits on the racino property because that property sits higher than the floodway and would save the city of Monroe on maintenance costs they currently undertake to keep the road operable, said Kurt Weber of the Warren County Engineer’s Office.

The money to pay for extending Gateway Boulevard would come from a Tax Increment Financing Fund the commissioners created this month. The fund would place 75 percent of property taxes collected from the site into dollars for infrastructure improvements to the area. Commissioners and racino officials are still in the process of agreeing to what percentage of that money will go to the racino for the improvements it is required to make and how much the county itself will keep.