The slot machines ringing at The Meadows Racetrack & Casino are bringing millions of new dollars for projects in Washington County, but they've also sparked government squabbling reminiscent of dysfunctional siblings lusting after a deceased parent's estate.

At the Somerset Township Municipal Building tomorrow night, state legislators from Washington County will hold the third of four planned meetings on the thorny issues surrounding distribution of slots revenue.

Officials in some municipalities have sniped at the prior hearings that the process of allocating an initial $8 million has been unfair and secretive, shutting them out of a deserving share.

The debate is over funds that will come to the county using a formula that relates to the gross revenue of the casino, which opened in June. The annual amount the county will receive will be based on revenues as of March 31 each year, which state officials estimate will be $8 million to $10 million in the partial year that just ended and several million dollars higher than that in succeeding years.

As the casino's host municipality, North Strabane also receives a base amount of at least $2.1 million a year from slots, based on half of the size of its 2004 budget.

North Strabane has flexibility in how it uses its grant, but not so other municipalities. They must get backing from the county or the development authorities within the county for any projects they want to have funded. They also must meet criteria of promoting job creation or training, economic development, or improving quality of life.

The restrictions make it hard for many smaller municipalities to obtain funding, said Houston Borough Council President Charles Fife, who wants the process changed to award half of the money to municipalities on a per capita basis.

They should receive about $20 per person as a base, Mr. Fife suggested.

County officials acknowledge some procedural changes may be needed, but they also defend the merits of the 26 projects submitted to the state Department of Community and Economic Development for approval of funding by June 30. Municipalities and agencies proposed 85 projects totaling $88 million to a review committee established by the county commissioners.

The review committee has essentially the same membership as the Washington County Economic Development Roundtable, which is made up mostly of representatives of economic and industrial development authorities.

Those same authorities themselves submitted the majority of projects that were recommended for funding.

"Everything they [approved] was for the betterment of the county, but it is a little bit of a tough scenario, said Rep. Tim Solobay, D-Canonsburg, host of tomorrow's 7 p.m. meeting, and a proponent of spreading revenue across all municipalities.

Washington County Commissioner Larry Maggi said only the Legislature, however, could change the funding criteria to allow all municipalities to receive a portion of the proceeds , without submitting specific projects within guidelines.

The commissioners will meet this spring with state lawmakers to discuss the municipalities' concerns and see what adjustments might be practical, Mr. Maggi said.