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Last month, at a Mayor and Council meeting, a 2% tax on recreational cannabis sales within the borough was passed. This means the council anticipates recreational dispensaries are on the way to Roselle Park, and more importantly, that the borough can monetize the blossoming cannabis market.
“[It] is meaningful revenue for a small town like us,” Signorello III said of the 2% tax. “We will put that back into whatever – paying for cops, paying for streetlights – whatever you can think of we will put back into the operational budget.”
The Paterson City Council had a heated session before rejecting several proposed changes to local cannabis business rules on Tuesday.
Among the changes proposed was an increase from the currently allowable maximum of three retail cannabis outlets within the City of Paterson to six, reducing the distance between cannabis businesses from schools and places of worship from 300 feet to 200 feet, and the surcharge the city would collect on future cannabis sales.
Rutherford could soon allow retail cannabis establishments, but with certain restrictions. The proposal stipulates that no retail cannabis setups would be permitted within the Park Avenue, Union Avenue business districts, or any areas west of Route 17. Only adults aged 21 and above would be able to purchase cannabis products, and sales would be subject to state and local municipal tax. The borough stands to gain two percent of all class 5 license sales, if this goes through.
Uncertainty fueled increased opposition to permitting cannabis businesses in Somers Point, but City Council voted 5-2 to take another step toward that goal July 27.
Before the vote, solicitor Tom Smith added language to the ordinance recommending the city issue no more conditional approvals than the number of licenses it wishes to issue, raising questions about whether the city would ultimately be able to choose who receives a license.
Observer: That’s a grow facility?
Steinmann: Grow, manufacture, and then obviously they sell to retailers. In those particular situations— if it if it’s strictly going to be for adult use—then our revenue stream is greatly improved. Basically, once they’re growing plants, they sell the plant to the manufacturer, who is going to make it into whatever form that they’re going to put it in.
It seemed too good to be true.
Lawrence Township Manager Kevin Nerwinski didn't believe the numbers he was seeing. Verano Holdings wanted approval to open up their Zen Leaf medical marijuana dispensary in the town to recreational customers, selling legal weed to anyone over 21 years old. The company expected millions in revenue per month and, with a 2% transfer tax on every sale, a huge windfall for the township.
In the first year or two, Verano told Nerwinski that the township could see as much as $1 million in tax revenue.
