Stone James, Economic Development Director, provided an overview of the cannabis industry analysis which included surveys and interviews.
Lisa Goldfine, Double Eye Dispensary, expressed her concerns with the struggling cannabis industry and requested assistance from the City.
Kenneth Churchill, West Coast Cannabis Club, thanked staff and the Council for taking the time to talk to the cannabis industry and listening to them. He expressed his concern with the struggle the cannabis industry is facing and feels they need to work together to ensure these small businesses survive. He encouraged the City Council to help support small businesses and lower taxes to 5%.
Meagan Hogg, Double Eye Dispensary, expressed her concern with the changes in the cannabis industry and requested assistance from the City.
John Chaissa, Atomic Budz, thanked the City for listening to the cannabis industry. He would like to see cannabis businesses treated the same as all other businesses, which he feels will cause the black market no longer to exist.
Armando Perez, Desert Sun Ray, expressed his concern with challenges with the industry is facing and by being taxed at a premium. He feels tax reductions would help and he would like this to be looked at as a mid to long term solution.
Mayor Lamb stated that she is invested in protecting businesses in the City and thanked staff for the comprehensive analysis. She expressed her support for lowering the taxes to help the cannabis industry and is in favor of staff's recommendations.
Councilmember Gregory stated that he remains conflicted on how much to help. He expressed his concern with making a decision that will reduce revenue and would like to know how it will be made up. He would also like to see what the budget cuts will look like and what the forecast will be for over the next few years. In regard to cultivation and manufacturing, he feels the ordinance may need to be looked at and cleaned-up to go to the vote of the people. He expressed his support of finding a way to help the industry through the budget process and proposed limiting the number of licenses in the future.
Mayor Pro Tem Carnevale feels the cannabis industry is being affected nationwide and feels that the cannabis businesses should be treated the same as other businesses. He feels that over taxing cannabis businesses is harsh and supports reducing the tax rate for retail and cultivation.
Councilmember Gutierrez stated that he can see that the cannabis industry needs help, however, he is conflicted on how much help to provide. He questioned if the industry has reached out to the State for assistance. He expressed his concern with revenue loss and feels that before they take action, the City needs to be able to balance and analyze the budget with staff's input on how to do it.
Councilmember Ross feels that the cannabis industry is in need of help, and she supports a tax cut. She feels the City needs to analyze the budget to find a way to do it.
It was the consensus of the City Council to support some type of tax break for the cannabis industry. It was the direction of Council for staff to provide what the budget ramifications of the tax break will be and to bring back a recommendation at a future meeting for Council’s consideration.