Resident urges Arts Commission and city to account for $400,000 in cannabis tax; staff says it will follow up

During public comment at the March 6 Arts Commission meeting, resident Jim Fitzpatrick asked why roughly $400,000 in cannabis tax revenue had not been placed on the commission’s agenda and urged the commission and city council to reconstitute commissions with “doers” who will act on funds.

Fitzpatrick said he reviewed agendas and the arts specialist’s reports and found no record that the funds had been discussed; he said he filed a public records request and received a 383‑page budget with a single page reference (he cited “page 46”) and asked commissioners to press staff to place the matter on an agenda. Fitzpatrick described the lack of action as poor customer service and urged commissioners to demand staff produce the relevant budget detail by the next meeting.

Mr. Gruner (city staff) responded later in the meeting, saying he would follow up with Fitzpatrick to clarify the nature of the $400,000 and to address any questions; Gruner said he had sent Fitzpatrick an email acknowledging receipt and planned to investigate further. No formal action was taken at the meeting; commissioners said they would follow up and one commissioner asked to continue the discussion offline.