Following a Superior Court judge ruling earlier this month, that the Atlantic City Council must count the signatures of a petition to hold a vote on a US $300 million tax break to ailing casinos development Revel Entertainment Group, last Friday City officials approved a petition calling for a citywide vote to help it finish a half-built project, where investment giant Morgan Stanley is a major investor.

Revel is struggling to find money to finish a US $2.5 billion casino project in Atlantic City, and has applied for the tax incentives available over the course of 20 years. Last year, the tax plan was opposed by UNITE-HERE, the city’s largest union representing casino service workers, and filed the petition, which was rejected by the City Clerk’s Office last January. At this point, the Union appealed to the Courts.

Bob McDevitt, the president of Local 54 Union, said that the Court approval was a victory against politicians hell bent on granting aid to Morgan Stanley: "Politicians, mainly Democrats, have thrown up roadblock after roadblock to prevent the people from having a vote on whether taxpayers should pay Morgan Stanley to build something that is likely to lead to a net loss of jobs and tax revenues. And now they want us to bail out Morgan Stanley's investment by helping them get a better price. The judge had to order the city to count the signatures, and now the voters will have their say."

City Council solicitors who rejected UNITE-HERE’s petition last year had said that the city still intends to appeal the judge's decision, but confirmed the city's intentions to move forward with the referendum process in the interim. Deputy City Clerk Rhonda Williams said that her office verified that the petition contained enough valid signatures to place the question on a city ballot, but City Council still has to approve the referendum and no date for an election has been set.

It seems odd that the majority of City Council members persist in supporting the Revel project and its efforts for government aid and assistance, including unanimously approving the resolution to move the tax-incentive plan forward, but then, perhaps not, as all type of politicians have also opposed the Union’s claim to let the Revel project go, unless Morgan Stanley finds new money or investors to carry on. (E-04.20.10)

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