While no aldermen or school board races will be contested in the city, Union voters will decide whether or not they want marijuana sales taxed in the upcoming April municipal election.
Aldermen voted unanimously Monday to place a 3-percent tax on recreational marijuana sales in the city limits on the April 4 ballot. A separate 2-percent tax on medical marijuana sales will also appear on the ballot.
Both tax rates are the maximum allowed by the state.
Union does not currently have a medical marijuana dispensary.
The ballot initiative approved statewide by voters in November that added adult-use recreational marijuana legalization to the Missouri Constitution gives cities an opportunity to tax cannabis sales up to 3 percent. The municipal tax would be in addition to regular sales taxes and the 6 percent state marijuana tax created by Amendment 3.
While Union officials previously discussed telling voters the revenue from marijuana taxes would go to a specific use, such as transportation improvements, it will, for now, go to the general fund with no designated purpose.
“The board did not make a decision on that,” City Administrator Jonathan Zimmermann told The Missourian after the vote.
The board of aldermen’s resolution calls for Union City Clerk Jonita Copeland to notify County Clerk Tim Baker of the vote to hold the election by no later than the end of the day Jan. 24.
Aldermen in Pacific and St. Clair previously voted to put marijuana taxes on the April 4 ballot. The Washington City Council has discussed the issue, but is expected to vote later this month to put the proposed sales tax on the ballot.
Union is the only one of the four cities that does not currently have a medical marijuana dispensary licensed by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services within the city limits.
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