Jamestown City Council will vote on the 2022 budget tonight and also introduce an opt out law regarding marijuana dispensaries and consumption establishments.
The opt out law was filed under new business and will likely be tabled in order for it to be discussed at December’s council work sessions. A local law requires a public hearing before it can be brought forth for a vote.
Councilmember Brent Sheldon had stated at the October 4th work session that a lot of neighboring communities have voted to opt-out of allowing cannabis dispensaries and on-site consumption locations. He said the state has not come out with promised regulations yet which makes it difficult for municipalities to decide what to do, “Also, with part of the law if you don’t opt out now, you’re opting in and you can’t opt out later and that just does not make sense to me. If you have problems in the future, you should be able to opt out. So I think this is something we need to discuss as a full body, as a full council, look into it more, see if there’s things happening at the state level. The new Governor has appointed several people to the Commission but the rules still have not been promulgated at this point.”
In regards to the city budget, Council members are expected to bring budget amendments to the floor as part of the approval process. Finance Chair Kim Ecklund stated at the budget public hearing on November 19th that only the general fund will be voted on tonight.
That said, a resolution was pre-filed to approve $3.7 million in lost revenue from the American Rescue Plan Act Local Recovery funds for the 2022 Capital Improvement Program.
Under the City Charter, Council must approve a budget by December 1st or the proposed Executive Budget automatically goes into effect for the next year.
A work session will be held at 7pm in the Third Floor Conference Room with the voting session taking place at 7:30pm in Council Chambers on the second floor. Both are open to the public and will be streamed online.
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