TORRINGTON — Mayor Elinor Carbone has reported to City Council that the city received $178,976 in tax revenue from cannabis sales in 2023.
And just like the funds received by cities and towns across the country from the American Rescue Plan Act, the money earned from cannabis revenue must be specifically designated for projects that benefit the community.
Uses for cannabis revenue include educational and employment programs for youth, mental health and addiction services, and streetscape improvements, Carbone said.
Torrington has two cannabis stores. Still River Wellness on Winsted Road, opened first as a medical marijuana dispensary, and opened its retail cannabis store in February 2023. Higher Collective, a retail cannabis store on McDermott Avenue, opened July 9.
According to the state, three separate taxes are levied on retail sale of cannabis: the state’s usual 6.35 percent sales tax, a 3 percent sales tax dedicated to the city or town where the sale occurs, and a tax based on THC content that will cost approximately 10 to 15 percent of the sale price. In total, the tax rate is expected to be approximately 20 percent of the retail price of cannabis, in line with the tax rates in Massachusetts.
In January, City Treasurer Dan Farley reported that some cannabis revenue will be used to fund the city’s DARE program, which promotes anti-drug use campaigns in elementary schools, and the Torrington Youth Service Bureau. He estimated at that time that Torrington was receiving about $15,000 a month.
“The youth service bureau is specifically eligible for the funding, based on the statute for cannabis revenue uses,” said Carbone. “The dollars must be spent consistently with that statute, and whatever’s left can go into a capitol reserve account. The City Council can then advise on how to spend it.”
During its July 15 meeting, the council took Carbone’s advice to set up a cannabis revenue account to collect that tax money, assuring that city agencies eligible for the funds will receive them each year. If more money is available, the mayor said, she can find other needs and uses for it.
Councilman Stephen Ivain asked if the money could be combined with other funds, such as opioid settlement money or Connecticut’s “nips” money. Carbone said no.
“They have totally different criteria for their uses,” she said. “So combining them doesn’t really work.”
The cannabis revenue money must be used for streetscape improvements and other neighborhood developments in communities where cannabis retailers, hybrid retailers, or micro-cultivators are located; education programs or youth employment and training programs in the municipality; services for individuals living in the municipality who were released from Department of Correction custody, probation, or parole; mental health or addiction services; youth service bureaus and municipal juvenile review boards; and community civic engagement efforts, according to documentation from the state.
Torrington’s Police Athletic League, also known as PAL, is scheduled to receive $15,000 of the cannabis funds. The Torrington Youth Service Bureau will received $31,562. The remaining revenue, Carbone said, is being transferred into a nonlapsing cannabis revenue account, to be used for streetscape improvements.
The council also made future plans for cannabis revenue: for 2025, with an expected $175,000, PAL will receive $50,000; youth service bureau, $33,417; salary for a program director, $63,174; a family engagement grant for $17.500; and $10,909 for the Gathering Place, Torrington’s homeless resource center on Prospect Street.
“If there’s any surplus, it will go into that nonlapsing fund,” the mayor said.
H/T: www.nhregister.com
