Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe chairman Cedric Cromwell has cut a deal for an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with Mayor Tom
Hoye and the City of Taunton which, if signed by Mayor Hoye on May 17, 2012 as noted on the document, places the City in the odd position
of having to support an Indian reservation casino in the City regardless of
whether or not the town votes in favor of this casino. If anyone, including the City, decides to oppose the Tribe's casino plans:
- Section 18.B of the IGA states, “The City shall assist the Tribe in responding to negative comments about the Project, reiterating the City’s support…”
- Section 18.C obligates the City to help
defend the Tribe in any litigation which challenges the Tribe’s required
approvals by the City, State or federal for gaming and the related Wampanoag application for land-in-trust.
- Section 18.D requires that the City “prepare and forward letters of support for the Trust application and Compact…” to the Department of the Interior, Governor and members of the State Legislature as directed by the Tribe.
If signed now, this IGA will simply
circumvent the need for any voter input – which was already noted to be
non-binding – and violates the underlying requirements set-forth in the casino gaming
legislation enacted by the Commonwealth last year. Further, this IGA calls for
the City to support the Wampanoag Tribe’s federal application for land-in-trust
(LIT) in Taunton – without ever seeing the application or what’s included
therein because the Tribe refuses to make its alleged revised application available
to the public (or even to Tribe members).
And, it calls for the City to
enlist the support of its elected legislators and governor in support of a
State Gaming Compact it has never seen – even the State Gaming Commission hasn’t
seen this compact reportedly drafted by Governor Patrick’s casino man Stan McGee.
Support for this IGA now completely discounts
the will of the voters of Taunton while agreeing to support state compacts and
federal applications (including in court) which the City has never even seen. Mayor
Hoye has called special meeting of the Taunton Municipal Council to review the IGA on Thursday, May 24th – a full two weeks prior to the
scheduled City referenda asking voters for their view of the proposed project. No wonder the election is “non-binding!” Talk about selling-out the voters and
taxpayers…
The IGA is so bad it appears even the City’s
own website has rejected it – or perhaps the Mayor has simply removed it after
townspeople’s scrutiny have revealed so many flaws.
Ha Ha Ha Taunton gets what it deserves for listening to their Mayor and Cedric Cromwell with all of their lies lies .
ReplyDeleteSo if there is no need for a vote from the town people will they give the 320,000 back to the tribe?
ReplyDeleteThe City has re-posted the IGA, but with at least one new page added - makes one wonder how an agreement executed on May 17th between the Mayor and Cedric Cromwell can be changed or updated and if we're really seeing the actual final documents. This is VERY sloppy indeed and coupled with the failure to produce the LIT and Compact which are named in the IGA does not instill confidence at all in this process.
ReplyDeleteHey Cin An - you missed one. In 1989 Cedric also had a court ordered involuntary dissolution (forced bankruptcy) of his company "Calamax Latex Corporation" for which Cedric was president, listing his Dorchester, MA (not Mashpee) residence.
ReplyDeleteNice post thanks for sharing
ReplyDelete