MONTAGUE — New revenues from marijuana retail taxes probably won’t be incorporated directly into the town’s operating budget, but rather will be set aside in a separate fund for selective uses, pending an affirmative Town Meeting vote.
If Montague holds a Town Meeting this winter — likely in late February or early March, if at all, according to Town Administrator Steve Ellis — the new fund is expected to be on the warrant, along with a handful of other financial articles.
Montague got its first marijuana retailer in September, when 253 Farmacy opened on Millers Falls Road. The town is estimated to receive about $35,000 in tax revenue from 253 Farmacy for the four months it has been open, Ellis said. That could be taken to mean that the town stands to make roughly $100,000 a year off the company, but Ellis also noted that the first four months may not be representative of what 253 Farmacy’s regular earnings will be.
Ellis briefly mentioned the approach the town plans to take with this new revenue source in meetings this week with the Selectboard and Finance Committee.
He noted that the marijuana industry will likely continue to change as legalization happens in nearby states, and advocated a conservative approach for handling whatever money the town makes off it.
“We look at these as potentially short-term revenues, or at least uncertain revenues, from the standpoint of their trajectory over time,” Ellis said. “So we’re not looking to build them into operating budgets, in any event.”
In that case, the money would be well-suited for one-time expenses, he said, like infrastructure projects or repairs to town buildings.
If the town does take that approach, it will need a Town Meeting vote to set up a “stabilization fund” to hold the marijuana retail tax revenue apart from general funds. Ellis also mentioned a few other potential warrant articles for an upcoming Town Meeting, mostly regarding town financial matters.
One is to rescind borrowing authority Town Meeting voters granted two years ago for the town’s water pollution control facility to build a solar panel array. The project has since been found to be unfeasible through the state funding programs that are now available, Ellis said.
The other is to amend Montague’s personnel bylaws into a “more modern framework,” in which the Selectboard would have more direct control, Ellis said.
If a Town Meeting is scheduled for late February or early March, Ellis said it will also be a chance to review and correct budgets that may be out of balance.
Reach Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 261.