The city of Danville has launched a new website to ensure transparency in how it spends tax revenue generated by the new Caesars casino. The online platform allows residents to track spending across nine budget categories and compare it to previous allocations.
Caesars Danville is one of three permanent casinos to have opened Virginia, out of an eventual five. It opened its permanent location in December 2024 after operating a temporary casino since 2023. It features 1,300 slots, 85 table games, 24 electronic tables, a 320-room hotel, and 12 restaurants, including Ramsay’s Kitchen by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.
The city anticipates receiving $25 million in tax revenue from Caesars for the 2025 fiscal year. That’s an increase of 20% from the $20.67 million collected in 2024. Part of that increase is due to the casino’s permanent location opening, which is expected to draw more visitors.
Changes in casino revenue allocation
Danville divides the proceeds into eight investment categories and an operations category covering government expenditures. Compared to 2024, the city’s focus has shifted, with some investment areas receiving significantly more than before and others receiving significantly less.
What’s getting more funding
- Community Health: 8.2%. Newly funded.
- Public Safety: 16.4%. Up from 6.3% in 2024 (10.1 point increase).
- Economic Opportunity: 25.8%. Up from 16.6% in 2024 (9.2 point increase).
- City Infrastructure: 7.4%. Up from 4.8% in 2024 (2.6 point increase).
- Quality of Life: 5.9%. Up from 4.8% in 2024 (1.1 point increase).
What’s getting less funding
- Long-Term Financial Stability: 8.4%. Down from 27.4% in 2024 (19 point decrease) and 100% in 2023.
- Public Education: 7.0%. Down from 13.6% in 2024 (6.6 point decrease).
- Operations: 18.1%. Down from 22.2% in 2024 (4.1 point decrease).
- Quality of Housing: 2.8%. Down from 4.3% in 2024 (1.5 point decrease).
Increased focus on safety, community health, and economic opportunity
In 2025, economic opportunity will receive the largest share of casino tax revenue, with a substantial increase from 2024. Several major projects require significant investment, including:
- $1.03 million for a parking structure on Lynn Street
- $893,888 for the construction of commercial spaces in the Dan River Falls building
- $889,336 will fund debt service payments for a parking deck on Spring Street
- $788,800 towards the city’s share of the Danville-Pittsylvania County Tourism program
Another area that will receive a significant increase in 2025 is public safety. The biggest single expenditure will be $1.1 million to replace the public safety software solution. Other major allocations include:
- $965,100 for lease payments on the new Police Headquarters
- $546,980 for debt service payments related to the headquarters
- $702,245 for fire station parking lot improvements across the city
While it didn’t spend anything in 2024, Danville plans to invest over $2 million in Community health for two major projects. The city will pay $1.17 million for repairs and maintenance to the Riverwalk Trail and $879,206 for ongoing upgrades and renovations to Parks and Recreation outdoor facilities.
Other notable plans for 2025
Danville forecasts spending less on operations in 2025, but some of the largest expenditures still fall in this category. The city plans to spend $2.49 billion on employee pay-for-performance increases and $1.28 billion on increased health insurance. Danville Public School employees’ increased health insurance costs will total another $474,050. Despite these expenses, the total operations budget remains lower than the $4.58 million in 2024 on the city’s employee pay plan.
Public education funding will decrease in 2025, primarily because the city used Caesars revenue in 2024 to raise employee salaries and implement a $14 per hour minimum wage. However, key investments in 2025 include:
- $559,550 to support two-year college credit programs for rising juniors
- $519,370 to fund school security officers for elementary schools
In addition to education and operations, Danville will make major infrastructure investments in 2025, including $1 million to fund part of the Riverfront Park construction costs. Another $1 million will go toward street resurfacing, focusing on the Almagro neighborhood, which the Virginia Department of Transportation partially funds.
The investment area with the largest decrease in 2025 is long-term financial stability. That’s because the city is spending $2 billion to pay off IDA bonds issued for economic development projects, half of the $4 billion it spent in 2024. Also, in 2025, Danville will not add funds to the General Fund Reserved Fund Balance. For comparison, in 2024, it added $1.67 billion.
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