Voters in McFarland will face a tough decision Tuesday: Do they want cannabis stores to open in their town? And the measure’s biggest cheerleader? The city’s police chief.
The City Council for this small-town agricultural community of 14,000 unanimously voted at its March 24 meeting to place on the ballot Measure O, which would establish an 8 percent sales tax on cannabis retail, 2.5 percent for “testing labs” and 6 percent on “other cannabis businesses.” The city currently has a 7.25 percent sales tax.
Also on the ballot is a vote whether to adopt a 1-cent sales tax that’s estimated to generate just under $600,000 annually. McFarland’s interest in the sales tax is not uncommon to the region. Several communities across Kern County are looking to pass some form of sales tax increase this election to further public services, from filling potholes to policing to addressing homelessness. If approved, that would raise the sales tax rate in McFarland to 8.25 percent.
If the public approves the measure, the McFarland City Council will reconvene Nov. 23 to decide on a litany of policies and requirements that officials say will take time to sort out.
“If it gets passed, the council will determine things like the amount of licenses, what categories of businesses they want, how many businesses and where do you zone them,” McFarland City Manager Kenny Williams said. “I know we don’t want them in our downtown area of the community.”
It is also up to the council to decide how many businesses are awarded licenses to grow or sell, and how close they can operate to public spots such as parks and schools.
California voted in 2016 to legalize the sale of marijuana for recreational use by adults. Sixty-two percent of California’s cities and counties, including Bakersfield, don’t allow any kind of marijuana sales. Many communities have been slow to embrace it, while some cities, like Arvin and California City, have seized upon the opportunity.
The city expects to earn upwards of $1.8 million annually, about 5 percent of the city’s total budget, from cannabis sales, depending on what types of businesses are brought into the mix. Assistant City Manager Peter Cosentini said two cannabis companies, Salinas-based Grupo Flor and Greenlight Dispensaries, a national brand, have approached the city with interest.
“It’s been an ongoing discussion of educating the council with how to go through with this,” Cosentini said.
All cannabis operations, from grow sites to retail, pay a 15 percent state excise tax and a state sales tax, which can range from 7.25 percent to 10.25 percent. Industry experts warn that a hefty local tax on top of that can scare companies away.
“I understand that there’s a concern for the opening of a distribution location in the community,” Cosentini said. “I think these things that the council decides on will reflect where we put it and whether it’s in a good location.”
Citing funding concerns for public services, Williams said the cannabis measure will bring much-needed money to maintain their current policing levels and pay their county Fire Department bill.
“I think any small community like the city of McFarland has its challenges, and we don’t have the support to ensure our financial security,” Williams said.
Williams, who also serves as McFarland’s police chief, said that when he began his post in 2021, the city’s Police Department was part-time and severely underfunded. Without future monies lined up, Williams stated the ensuing staff issues pose a significant liability.
“There was not a police officer on duty from midnight to noon, and that’s a horrible level of service,” Cosentini said. “Would you feel safe with that level of service?”
With the help of a federal COPS grant, Williams said he hired seven officers, all within the same fiscal year. Due to grant conditions, the city will have to wait a year before it can apply again. In the meantime, the $885,000 annual bill looms ahead of next year’s budget.
“What’s going to happen when we lose the grant over the next year to year-and-a-half — we have to absorb the cost of the police officers,” Williams said. “I don’t know how we’re going to pay for that.”
McFarland, which paid $400,000 annually to the Kern County Fire Department, will pay an additional $200,000 each year, after the county announced McFarland and other localities were underpaying for fire services. In total, the price tag is expected to jump to $1.2 million over a five-year period.
“That cost is significant to a small community like ours,” Cosentini said. “We don’t know how to absorb that.”
Be the first to comment