Cannabis Stabilization Fund

At a glance

What: a stabilization fund created by the City Council with the mayor that receives one third of the city's 3% local cannabis tax. It holds about $1.7 million and nothing has been spent.
Where it stands: at the Oct 13 Finance Committee, councilors began discussing how to use it. No plan exists yet and no vote was taken.
Next: the Council would pick eligible uses and work with the mayor, who would bring a financial order; changing the allowed uses needs a Council order or ordinance change drafted with the Law Department.
Update (Nov 2): the Finance Committee discussed a preliminary reinvestment proposal; see 2026-11-02 - Finance Committee (City Council) Meeting. Nothing approved.

Deposits: about $543,000 in fiscal 2025 and $609,000 in fiscal 2026; about $1.2 million of the tax went to the general fund and offsets about $1 million in the budget.
The city paid back about $1.4 million to two cannabis businesses after the state ruled an extra 3% host community agreement fee unallowable; the payback came from this fund.
Allowed uses: neighborhoods within 1.5 miles of a cannabis establishment; education and recreation programming for youth and adults, neighborhood business incentives, infrastructure, recreation and community sites, other needed initiatives.

Councilor Click-Bruce and the chair, apparently Councilor Govan, want funds directed to neighborhoods that host dispensaries and bear traffic and related effects.
Other councilors raised using part of it for Targeted Tax Relief Program.

2026-10-13 - Finance Committee (auto-captions)
2026-10-05 - City Council - A councillor asked to explore using cannabis funds for targeted tax relief.

About 14 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Meeting	Minutes
2026-10-13 - Finance Committee	14

2026-10-13 - Finance Committee - Staff explained deposits, the $1.4 million payback and the $1.7 million balance; councilors discussed neighborhood-focused uses and a possible link to tax relief. No vote.
2026-11-02 - Finance Committee (City Council) Meeting - Community Reinvestment Proposal: tax allocation set at 33% (ordinance contemplated 50%); Councilor Govan proposed spending 80% of available funds annually (suggested split 30% youth/education/prevention, 20% behavioral health/recovery, 15% workforce, 10% neighborhood revitalization/safety, 5% nonprofits); working group of five to seven discussed. Recommendations only, no vote.

Chair presented a preliminary 80% annual spend / 20% reserve framework and a five-to-seven member working group (formed within 60 days, meeting within about two weeks, target access by early January 2027). A resident urged property tax relief; the chair said the fund cannot deliver meaningful relief. No vote.