Committee tables $108,695.56 cannabis-stabilization transfer after split vote

The Holyoke City Finance Committee voted 3-2 to table consideration of a proposed $108,695.56 transfer from the cannabis stabilization fund to pay solicitors' claims and damages.

City attorney Lisa Ball told the committee the matter has been before the city council and committee multiple times and that outside counsel and staff have briefed councilors in executive session. Ball said she believed the topic was ready for a council decision.

Councilor Kevin (surname not specified in the transcript) moved to table the item pending follow-up on guidance discussed in prior executive sessions; he said committee members had not received a written update reflecting the earlier guidance. The motion to table was seconded and carried on a 3-2 roll-call vote (Ocasio, Sullivan and Jourdain voting to table; Gibner and Devine voting no). Earlier in the discussion a separate motion to send the item to the city council without a committee recommendation failed 2-3.

Committee members noted the item has been discussed in executive session several times since June and that another executive session on the matter was scheduled for the next day. The tabled status means the committee will not take the transfer to the full council at this time; councilors who supported tabling said they wanted follow-up consistent with prior guidance before moving the matter forward.

The transfer amount was stated in the agenda language as $108,695.56 from the cannabis stabilization fund to solicitors' claims and damages.