Taunton council debates marijuana license scoring matrix, background checks and evaluator role

Taunton councilors and city attorneys spent an extended Committee of the Whole session reviewing a draft marijuana license evaluation matrix and related license-application language, discussing how the city should score applicants, who should perform the scoring, and how background checks and manager changes should be handled.

Attorney Bond said the draft matrix is largely the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) sample transposed to Taunton and that it needs more granular scoring guidance so reviewers can objectively assign points. He described the CCC-supplied matrix as giving 7.5 points for several metrics and 25 points for an equity metric, and recommended breaking each 7.5-point item into clearer tiers (for example "highly advantageous," "slightly advantageous," "not advantageous") so different reviewers reach consistent results.

Councilors debated whether the executive branch (the mayor and staff) should evaluate applications or whether the council should vote on score outcomes. Councilor Duarte and others noted many communities delegate the scoring to the chief executive with advice from a smaller advisory team; others said a council subcommittee could perform scoring. Councilor Coit suggested the mayor’s team — with input from subject-matter staff such as the police chief and zoning officer — should do the scoring and recommend to the council, while Councilor Postel and Councilor Sanders urged objective,…