Cannabis tax ballot effort put on hold

Organizers behind a cannabis tax measure in Sausalito are pausing their effort to qualify for the ballot.

Timothy McCloud, an applicant and a former city council candidate, said he was no longer seeking signatures for the initiative because of opposition from constituents and the drain on city resources to research the project.

The measure would place a 4% tax on the annual operation of cannabis retail businesses in Sausalito. The tax would be a general tax, with revenues provided to the city's general fund on a quarterly basis, according to the initiative.

The initiative would not change Sausalito municipal code, which bans cannabis facilities within the city, including cultivators, distributors, manufacturers, processing facilities, testing facilities, medical dispensaries and retail shops. It would only apply to deliveries at this time.

McCloud said the initiative would have brought in $100,000 in revenue to the city from deliveries alone.

“People who have been concerned with the financial health of the city have been on board, but there are people who are against anything to do with cannabis,” McCloud said. “It was just too soon. The problem on my part was timing.”

Abbot Chambers, the city's spokesperson, said that McCloud notified the city of his intention to shelve the measure in an email sent on Sept. 25.

Chambers said he did not have any additional information available regarding a report that was being prepared by city staff following a presentation on the proposed ballot measure to the City Council on Sept. 5.

The organizers had 180 days to acquire signatures from the date of the filing of initiative with the city on June 20.

In order for an initiative measure to qualify for the Sausalito ballot, the sponsor must collect the signatures of at least 10% of registered voters.

There are approximately 5,000 registered voters in Sausalito.

McCloud said organizers had gathered “about half” that amount.

The tax would apply if Sausalito were to allow storefront cannabis retail in the future. It would not apply to cultivators, nurseries, testing laboratories, distributors or manufacturers that the city might choose to permit in the future, according to the initiative.

The measure would also permit the city to amend the initiative by decreasing the tax or clarifying the method of collection. The tax could not be increased or repealed without voter approval.