Atlantic City casinos were expecting a tax relief plan to be approved before the 1st of April allowing them to benefit from a tax break. The tax relief plan was earlier known as the Casino Property Taxation Stabilization Act that was initially proposed by Senate President Stephen Sweeney. The current plan is being held up because Senate President Stephen Sweeney and New Jersey Gov. Christie have not been able to reach a mutual agreement to approve the plan.

The uncertainty over the  plan has unsettled Atlantic City’s struggling casino industry along with Don Guardian, the Mayor of Atlantic City. Guardian and his team have been working hard to come up with new plans that would help revive Atlantic City’s gambling industry but those plans have yet to see any fruition.

Gov. Christie has confirmed that a final decision will be made after his emergency management sends across their final report along with their recommendations as to what is best for Atlantic City. Christie deployed the emergency management team in January 2015 and tasked them with the responsibility of analyzing Atlantic City’s struggling economy and recommending solutions that would help revive the market.

Sweeney has not been impressed with the delay and wants Gov. Christie to confirm at the earliest if he would sign the bill as casinos in Atlantic City have an April 1st deadline to file appeals on  their tax assessments. Mayor Guardian also backed Sweeney and requested Christie to not delay proceedings any longer as approving the bill was extremely important for both residents and businesses in Atlantic City.

In a statement, Sweeney said “What’s the holdup? We have the votes to pass it. The Atlantic County executive and the freeholders are for it. They’re all on board. It’s the administration. They know what the bills are. I’m ready to tee them up now [for a vote.] But I’m not putting them on Gov. Christie’s desk until I know he will sign them.”