City Manager Charles McClendon provided a Cannabis Task Force update. The following points were presented:
Total Cannabis Taxes
Retail Cannabis Taxes
Coachella Valley Retail Tax Rates
Coachella Valley Cultivation Tax Rates
Coachella Valley Manufacturing Tax Rates
Task Force Discussion
Recommendations
Kenneth Churchill, West Coast Cannabis Club, provided information on the tax structure of other cities in California. He urged the City Council to reduce retail cannabis taxes.
Jocelyn Kane CVCAN, urged the City Council to reduce cannabis taxes.
Paula Turner discussed cultivation tax and how other cities tax those facilities. She urged the City Council to reduce cannabis taxes.
Robert Lowe, Greenscape, expressed his concern about the cannabis industry and urged City Council to reduce cannabis taxes.
Jeremy Goodlander, Atomic Budz, expressed his concern with potentially losing his employment as a cannabis worker and urged the City Council to help.
Lisa Goldfine, Double Eye Dispensary, expressed her concern with the current tax rate and urged the City Council to reduce retail cannabis taxes.
John Ramistella, Desert Kush, has not made a dollar with his business and urged the City Council to take that into consideration.
Mayor Ernesto Gutierrez expresses the importance of the City’s budget and resources.
He also expressed his support of a tax reduction in a balanced way that the City’s budget can accommodate. He also feels the Council should act sooner than later.
Councilmember Mark Carnevale expressed support of the Task Force’s recommendation and feels the Council should act now. He urged the businesses to do their part to revamp their businesses during these challenging times, as it is not the City’s job to make sure their businesses are a success.
Councilmember Raymond Gregory expressed the importance of recognizing that the voters were promised a public benefit with regards to cannabis in the City. He expressed his concern and that he may be willing to support reduced rates that will be in the best interest of the City and the residents, while remaining competitive with the rest of the Valley. He also feels it is premature to act now and suggests monitoring the situation.
Councilmember Nancy Ross expressed the need for a better understanding of the whole picture and how a reduction will affect businesses and the City, in order for her to make an educated decision, however, she would support her fellow Councilmembers if they chose to move forward with a tax reduction at this time.
Mayor Pro Tem Rita Lamb stated that she has looked at the data and knows the businesses are hurting. She feels there are other factors also contributing to the issue, however, she does not want to lose this industry. She suggested staff analyze further to provide the Council with options on how to best move forward.
It was the consensus of the City Council to direct staff to work with industry members and staff to evaluate how a tax reduction would affect their bottom line, and how it would affect the City’s budget.