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Riverview council seeks public input on 2024 vision plan; council debates using dispensary fees for prevention programs
Summary
Councilmembers asked residents to participate in drafting a 2024 vision plan to guide Riverview growth and revenue after landfill revenue declines, and discussed using dispensary community-benefit fees for prevention programs.
Councilmembers invited residents to help shape Riverview’s 2024 vision plan, a document intended to guide projects and revenue strategies after landfill revenues decline. Councilmember Webb asked residents to participate and provided contact addresses for council members leading the committee.
In the same discussion, Councilmember Webb pressed whether money the city collects from cannabis dispensaries through a community-benefits program could be used for addiction prevention and treatment. He noted the city receives roughly $10,000 per dispensary annually under its licensing arrangements and asked whether the revenue could fund prevention programs, school-based officers or education initiatives.
City Manager Dobek said the city had not earmarked those funds for addiction prevention and characterized the licensing fee revenue as part of the general fund. He and other council members discussed options for using that revenue stream next budget year and noted the amounts are relatively small and variable year to year. Dobek said the city could consider earmarking funds or partnering with the school district to share costs for a resource officer if local and superintendent funding were available.
Councilmember Webb said prevention funding could support school-based programs and policing partnerships. “It’s nice to have these devices when something goes wrong, but I think that we've allowed marijuana into our community and we need to take that money and put it into prevention,” Webb said. The council agreed to explore potential uses and to consult the superintendent about shared funding for a school officer.
Action: Council formally launched the 2024 vision-plan effort and solicited resident participation; there was no vote to reassign dispensary licensing fees. Direction: staff and council members will discuss potential earmarking and pursue conversations with the school district about cost-sharing for a school resource officer. No final funding commitments were made at the meeting.
