One Cleveland council member is arguing that the city's residents should reap the benefits of money coming back to the city as the result of legalized recreational marijuana sales, citing the fact that three-quarters of the city's voters chose to legalize those sales.
Councilmember Richard Starr is proposing legislation that would split the city鈥檚 share of marijuana sales taxes between council and mayoral control.
"For years, decades, many of our neighborhoods were disproportionately impacted by marijuana enforcement, arrests, records, barriers to opportunity," said Starr, whose East Side ward includes parts of Downtown, Central, Kinsman, Midtown and Slavic Village. "Now that legalization is here, we have a responsibility to ensure that those same communities see the benefit, not just in theory, but in real investment."
Ohio municipalities receive 36% of the state鈥檚 10% excise tax on dispensary sales within their borders.
In January, the city reported $740,000 in new funds generated from the first year and a half of sales, which is currently controlled by the mayor鈥檚 office. A spokesperson said the administration had not yet designated a use for that new revenue.
"This is not taking away from administration," Starr told his colleagues at Monday's council meeting. "This is all about shared governance. 50% remains with the administration, 50% comes to council. That is balance That is partnership. That is how local government should work."
Starr said that money could go toward home repair, youth programs, violence prevention and workforce development.
Cleveland's finance department is conservatively budgeting half a million dollars annually in expected tax revenue from the city's five dispensaries licensed for recreational sales. A city spokesperson said he expects that number to grow as more dispensaries open across the city.
