MEDFORD, Ore. — The City of Medford has been collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars in marijuana tax revenue over the last two years.
Now, the question on many people’s minds, where will that money go?
“It’s something different than other types of revenue that we receive…,” said CFO of the City of Medford, Ryan Martin.
The city has a big decision to make… how it will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in marijuana tax revenue.
“10 percent goes to every city and every state…,” said Martin. “And based off our population, we get a certain portion of that.”
In Medford, the cut is 3 percent from recreational marijuana sales.
And it’s adding up.
They’ve already made $839,000 in the past year and a half. And they anticipate they’ll make an additional $500-600,000 every year.
The 3 percent is not to be confused with Measure 91, which is using 17 percent of tax revenue to benefit a number of agencies and services across Oregon.
Martin is the Chief Financial Officer for the City of Medford. It’s his job to help the budget committee decide what to do with the money locally.
“I’m really just providing enough information for them to make an informed decision…,” he said.
Martin says the decision isn’t easy, but they have a few ideas.
“Some wanted it to go towards a livability team, some wanted it to be paid for upcoming pers debt…,” he said.
While tax payers, no doubt, have their own opinions.
“I think a little side pocket of that should go towards rehabilitation and recovery,” said John Irvine, Medford resident.
“Additional marijuana tax should be used to solve the pers crisis…,” said Doug Schmor, Medford resident.
Martin says it’s too early to predict where the cash will go, but they’re thankful for the opportunity the money brings.
“This is something we don’t see that often where we have a new, recurring revenue source come in that they have the opportunity to make a difference in the city,” he said.
Martin says the decision will hopefully be made at the budget committee meeting on April 29th.
If there is something you’d like the city to consider, you’re welcome to attend the meeting.
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