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City Attorney asks for staff, proposes administrative tools to fight illegal cannabis and nuisance properties while flagging liability risks
Summary
The City Attorney told the Budget and Finance Committee the office needs additional staff to manage litigation and enforcement, proposed changes to administrative code to place some enforcement costs on property tax bills, and discussed options to pair criminal and administrative enforcement against illegal cannabis operations.
City Attorney representatives told the Budget and Finance Committee they are preparing memos and proposals to expand enforcement tools against nuisance properties and illegal cannabis operations and asked for a comprehensive staffing plan to handle the city’s litigation and enforcement caseload.
“We are looking at the administrative code in a couple of different areas,” the City Attorney said, describing a proposal to allow fines or charges tied to the city’s nuisance-abatement work to be placed on a property tax bill. The City Attorney framed the change as “another tool in the toolbox” to use alongside criminal enforcement for illegal cannabis operations and other code violations.
City Attorney staff said the Department of Cannabis Regulation primarily monitors permitted operators while the City Attorney’s criminal branch historically handled illegal operators. The City Attorney said the office will examine whether an administrative alternative to the existing ACE adjudicative process could be used in some cases so fines or liens could appear on property tax bills rather than proceed solely through criminal referrals.
Councilmembers suggested operational ideas. Councilwoman Hutt asked whether an interdepartmental task force is being constituted; the City Attorney said the office has awaited the outcome of budget processes and that any new tools would be coordinated with other departments. Councilwoman Hutt also suggested loaning street services investigators to the City Attorney to augment enforcement capacity; the City Attorney said staffing proposals were deferred for a comprehensive plan to be returned to the committee.
On staffing and liabilities, the City Attorney said the office remains understaffed. The City Attorney briefed the committee that the office is preparing a plan showing how it could grow to meet caseload demands and preparing a liabilities report to support budget discussions. Chief deputies Denise Mills and Valerie Flores and Finance Director Christina Gerber were identified as part of the City Attorney team working on staffing and liability reports.
Committee members asked for memos and follow-ups: Councilmember Acosta requested analysis of whether the ACE program could be used administratively alongside criminal enforcement; Councilmember Blumenfield and others asked for a staffing plan and a liabilities forecast. The City Attorney said some reports will be public (payments already made) while portions of liability previews of pending litigation will be provided in closed session as appropriate.
