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Councilman Starr backs ordinance sending half of marijuana tax revenue to neighborhood equity fund
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Summary
Councilman Starr urged adoption of Ordinance 4 60 20 26 to allocate 50% of new adult-use cannabis tax revenue to a neighborhood equity fund, saying the measure would distribute funds equally across Cleveland’s 15 wards and require reporting and council review; council moved related legislation forward by recorded vote.
Councilman Starr urged colleagues to support Ordinance 4 60 20 26, which would allocate 50% of the city’s adult-use marijuana tax receipts to Cleveland City Council for distribution through a Neighborhood Equity Fund.
“Fifty percent remains with administration, 50% comes to council,” Councilman Starr said, framing the measure as a way to ensure neighborhoods receive the benefits of legalization. He told the chamber the November 2023 vote to legalize recreational marijuana carried a mandate that new revenue should reach communities “block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood.”
The ordinance would direct council-controlled dollars into an existing fund and require monthly reporting by the finance director; council-level approval would be required for funded projects. Starr said the proposal guarantees equal distribution across all 15 wards and includes accountability provisions designed to prevent opaque discretionary spending.
Supporters framed the measure as an equity response to decades of disproportionate enforcement in some neighborhoods. Starr said the policy would enable investments in home repair, youth programs, workforce development and other neighborhood stabilization projects.
Council moved multiple pieces of legislation to final passage during the meeting; the clerk recorded roll-call votes when the rules were suspended for immediate passage. The ordinance’s next formal step is placement on the agenda for final adoption under the council’s legislative process.
The council did not debate detailed project criteria during this session; proponents said future council review and monthly financial reporting would provide oversight.
