The City Council tabled a decision on creating and filling a new cannabis compliance officer position within city staff, amid debate over the need, cost and job description at the Nov. 12 meeting. When approving the 2019-2020 budget, the Council in principle approved the position of a cannabis compliance officer to oversee the city’s commercial cannabis businesses and ensure regulations are being followed and taxes and fees are being collected. The position is to be paid for through fees from the cannabis industry. The city has 11 cannabis businesses in operation now, with about 50 more working their way through the planning process, City Manager Anna Linn said.
“There is a defined need” for the position, she said, with the industry preparing to grow “exponentially” in the near future. When speaking with other cities that have welcomed the cannabis industry, she has been told that their mistake was in waiting too long to develop a compliance program.
The city needs a person in a position of authority to compel these businesses to comply with the regulations and to pay the required taxes and fees, Linn said.
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