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Acreage CCF asks Egg Harbor Township for time to resolve $400,000 tax discrepancy; matter moved to executive session
Summary
Acreage CCF (the botanist) told the township committee it self-reported a $400,000 tax shortfall and requested a short extension to continue operations while it works with township officials; township representatives said the issue will be discussed in closed session and listed the item on the executive-session agenda.
Acreage CCF, also known as The Botanist, sought clarity from Egg Harbor Township officials about a tax reconciliation the company says resulted in a $400,000 deficiency and asked the committee for a short-term extension so it can continue operations while the parties resolve the dispute.
Lauren Ferguson, who identified herself as a manager at Acreage CCF's Egg Harbor Township facility, told the committee the vertically integrated cannabis facility employs about 93 people at the township location and that the company has been working with township staff and Mr. Friedman and the tax assessor to reconcile the difference. She said Acreage CCF has "self reported" a $400,000 deficit and is willing to make the township whole while the company and municipal staff finish their calculations.
Ferguson said the company sought clarity because it learned it was not listed on the renewal agenda for local cannabis-license renewals; she said that omission could be read as a signal that a license is at risk when the company believes it is actively working with township staff. "We want to stay here. We want to keep investing here," she said, and requested a short extension of three months to keep operations running while the parties work through outstanding issues.
Township officials responded that the matter is appropriate for the meeting's closed executive session and that the committee would discuss taxation and licensing perspectives in private. The meeting's closed-session resolution (Resolution 243) explicitly lists "Acreage GCF (aka The Botanist), taxation" as an executive-session item with an anticipated disclosure timeframe of one year.
Mr. Friedman told the company's representative that the township will follow up with legal and finance staff and reply to the company after the closed session. No public vote or formal decision on the company's request for a three-month extension was recorded in open session.
