Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Local Taxation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council hears update on cannabis compliance; city says revenue rise largely reflects back taxes and permits brought current
Summary
Staff told the council that an enforcement and audit push has increased cannabis tax receipts, with about 110 active operators (98 largely compliant) and roughly a dozen operators still behind; staff described payment plans and penalties for late payments.
Council pulled Consent Item 7 for discussion on May 13 and received a compliance update from Cindy, a member of the city team managing cannabis compliance. Cindy told the council the city is bringing operators into compliance, which has produced a rise in receipts driven in part by back‑tax collections and by operators updating permits.
"We have around a 117 entities... 110 active operators... and I would say around 98 of them are in compliance or coming into compliance," Cindy said. She added the city completed 119 audits in the prior reporting period and has another 115 audits open. A small number of operators remain on payment plans for large delinquencies, and staff said penalties typically begin when accounts are more than a month past due (penalties are calculated as half the unpaid tax plus daily interest under current practice).
Council members asked for a written numeric summary due to technical audio issues during the meeting; the mayor requested staff email a detailed accounting of the compliance numbers to the city manager for distribution to the council.
Staff emphasized a preference for working with operators toward compliance rather than immediate punitive measures, but said penalties and enforcement steps will be applied for operators who remain noncompliant beyond grace periods or who fail to meet payment plans.
The council did not change policy at the meeting; staff will follow up with the written breakdown requested by the council.
