The City confirmed this week that the first $2 million mitigation payment from Encore Boston Harbor has been received at City Hall.
Upon opening on June 23, Encore was to pay the $2 million within 90 days, and this week the funds were wired to the City for use within the community. The mitigation payment is an annual payment that Mayor Martin Walsh negotiated in the Surrounding Community Agreement (SCA) two years ago.
Mayor Walsh has routinely said the mitigation money would be focused on Charlestown and would not be spread out to other parts of the city.
A spokesperson for the mayor said the funds have been put into the Charlestown Community Mitigation Fund, and will be dispersed in the same way that the fund has been operating for several years.
Those funds will be dispersed in a future funding round.
The City has been dispersing a $1 million licensing fee for the past several years paid by Encore specifically for Charlestown non-profits. Multiple funding rounds have taken place, and an official process has been put in place.
The new mitigation money will follow the same pattern, it appears, but it will not be targeted just for non-profits. Other things such as enhanced police details, water transportation and other mitigation measures can be funded as well with the new money.
The $2 million payment will occur likely in September each year the casino continues to operate.