With the recent approval of an ordinance that allows marijuana dispensaries in Riverview, one question many residents have is whether or not fees and taxes will offset the loss of landfill revenue after it closes.
The short answer is no, not by a longshot.
Although landfill profits vary from year to year, in the past city officials said approximately $3 million per year has been transferred from the landfill to the city’s general fund. Barring drastic changes in the amount of money dispensaries are required to pay communities, the amount Riverview can expect to receive from dispensaries won’t come close to that amount.
The four members of the City Council who voted for dispensaries said the money that dispensaries will bring to the city was a major reason they supported the measure. They acknowledged that fees and taxes charged to dispensaries won’t replace lost landfill profits, but they said it’s a start in the right direction.
Several residents who spoke out at a public hearing on the subject also cited the landfill’s pending closure as a reason that marijuana dispensaries should be allowed in the city.
They were referring to the fact that in November the Wayne County Solid Waste Facility Inclusion Committee denied the city’s application to expand the Riverview Land Preserve, a city-owned and operated solid waste landfill where a majority of Downriver communities dump their trash.
This was the third time over the last few years that Wayne County has denied the city’s request to expand its landfill, which would have kept it going for several decades into the future.
However, the exact number of years the landfill has until it closes is subject to debate.
Councilman Dean Workman, an outspoken opponent of dispensaries in Riverview, read a prepared statement prior to voting against the ordinance, one in which he said he didn’t agree that dispensaries are necessary due to the finances of the city.
“If our council was more experienced, they would realize that our situation hasn’t really changed as of yet and there is no reason to panic,” Workman said. “In fact, it has actually improved. Due to COVID and our reduction of trash we have taken in during the lockdown, we are not looking at a landfill closure within eight years. The last I heard, we are looking at a closure of up to 12 years, depending on how we manage the landfill and how much revenue we want to receive.”
“We are also bringing on line a gas plant that will use the methane from our landfill to generate natural gas,” he added. “We will be receiving revenues from that. And we are in control of what type of trash we bring in, and we can increase the methane we generate by the type of trash we bring in.”
According to Mayor Andrew Swift, royalties from the city’s new gas plant, which is expected to be operational by mid-2023, will be a minimum of $400,000 per year.
He agreed with Workman that the landfill can extend its life by being more selective of where it accepts trash from, and said selling the landfill to a private company is yet another option.
The mayor said there are many options on the table to replace the revenue that is expected to be lost after the landfill has shut down, all of which have been discussed in recent months and will continue to be discussed going forward.
But for now, the city is preparing for at least one application from a Trenton resident who has expressed a desire to open a dispensary in Riverview, and in all likelihood probably a few others.
Now that the ordinance has been approved, the City Clerk’s office is expected to have a process in place by Jan. 6. According to Swift, that is the first day that license applications can be accepted.
As of now, Riverview will be one of the only communities among its close neighbors to allow dispensaries.
In August, the city of Trenton approved the opening of a grower-processing facility, the type of facility that Riverview’s cannabis committee rejected, saying it wasn’t needed. Unlike Riverview, Trenton does not allow dispensaries.
Trenton’s marijuana-related ordinance also differs from Riverview’s in terms of where a facility can be placed, as well as the way city officials sought approval from other community leaders.
“Trenton requires a 500-foot separation from residential (property) where ours only calls for 300 feet,” Swift said. “Trenton also received approval from their Planning Commission before the first reading of their ordinance.”
So what can Riverview realistically expect to receive monetarily from marijuana dispensaries?
While fees and other payments are subject to change, Swift said that as of now dispensaries pay an annual $5,000 license fee. They also make an annual payment of $10,000 in what is referred to as a community contribution. According to the mayor, this money will likely be used to finance the cost of enforcement and legal/attorney fees.
Lastly, communities that allow dispensaries are subject to an annual sharing of an excise tax from the state of Michigan. Last year, that amount was $56,000 per dispensary.
Be the first to comment