Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
'Yes' on Measure A Cannabis Business Tax Makes Fresno Safer: Olivier
GV-Wire-1
By gvwire
Published 6 years ago on
October 17, 2018

Share

“Whether you agree with the legalization of marijuana or not, it is already here, so it is crucial that we tax this new industry to ensure compliance and to eradicate the black market.”
With that sentence, the supporters of Measure A, the city of Fresno’s cannabis tax, sum up their ballot argument in favor of a new way forward — taxing cannabis businesses in Fresno.

Portrait of Fresno City Councilman Clint Olivier
Opinion
Clint Olivier
What makes this ballot argument so unique is that it is signed by two of the most respected public safety leaders in California: Fresno Fire Chief Kerri Donis and Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer.
Donis oversees the biggest municipal fire department in the Central Valley, and to have her name on the list of supporters is a big deal.
But Dyer? He’s one of the most prominent advocates of law and order around. He’s spent decades combating gangs, drug dealers, human traffickers, and drunk drivers. Dyer’s steady hand at the helm of Fresno’s police department has made Fresno safer. So if you’re the chief, or anyone else for that matter, why vote for Measure A?
The answer lies in the jumble that is Proposition 64, the November 2016 ballot measure that was approved by voters statewide and was also victorious in the city of Fresno.

First Step Is Approving a Business Tax

The beauty, or curse, (depending on one’s opinion on the matter) of Prop. 64. is that the law allows cities and counties to chart their own course when it comes to cannabis policy — determining what kinds of businesses are allowed, and which ones are not. Local control is king in the post-Prop. 64 world. Which brings us back to Fresno and Measure A.

What makes this ballot argument so unique is that it is signed by two of the most respected public safety heads in California, Fresno Fire Chief Kerri Donis and Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer.
The Fresno City Council voted 7-0 last December to begin the arduous process of licensing medicinal cannabis dispensaries in city limits. Since then, the sub-committee on cannabis has expanded the scope of the proposed regulations to allow the cultivation, manufacture, distribution, and testing of cannabis products as well.
A final vote is expected in November, but the city can’t begin collecting tax revenue unless voters first approve a business tax.

Cannabis Tax Revenue for Public Safety

All of the money from this tax will stay in Fresno for the benefit of Fresno.  Measure A will provide greater resources for public safety — eventually $10 million annually, according to city staff. The money will go toward beefing up a law enforcement operation that’s running on a shoestring. Measure A money will be used to hire more police officers for a new drug enforcement task force to crack down on drug dealers who sell heroin, meth, opioids, and illicit cannabis. Human traffickers and gang members are also in the city’s crosshairs.
One final wrinkle: Other Valley cities are coming online with their own cannabis licensed cannabis outlets. If Fresno voters decide to be the only large California city to say “‘no” to a regulated cannabis market, many Fresnans will drive to get their cannabis from licensed shops in those places — enriching surrounding cities at our expense. Those who don’t care about the law will continue to buy from Bulldog gang members and backpack drug dealers here in town. In both cases, no tax revenue is collected, and that’s unacceptable. As Fresnans, we need to take control of our own destiny and protect our neighborhoods.

At least one Merced leader is hoping, tongue-in-cheek, that Fresno’s measure fails. County GOP chair Brian Raymond jokes that he would like it to lose, so “Fresno has to send all that tax revenue up here.”

Other Cities Already Reaping Cannabis Benefits

This past June, Merced residents passed their own cannabis business tax with a whopping 77 percent of the vote. More recently that city granted licenses to four dispensary operators, with relatively little fanfare. Merced officials were on the news talking about the economic benefits and the increased revenue for public safety the stores will provide. Fresno would be wise to follow their lead.
At least one Merced leader is hoping, tongue-in-cheek, that Fresno’s measure fails. County GOP chair Brian Raymond jokes that he would like it to lose, so “Fresno has to send all that tax revenue up here.”
As my grandmother used to say, “Many a true thing is said in jest.”
Let’s keep our tax revenue at home where it can do the most good. Let’s safeguard our neighborhoods first. Let’s vote “Yes” on Measure A.
Clint Olivier represents District 7 on the Fresno City Council.
You can read Kim Castro’s opinion urging a “no” vote on Measure A at this link.

DON'T MISS

North Korean Leader Says Past Diplomacy Only Confirmed US Hostility

DON'T MISS

Democrats Strike Deal to Get More Biden Judges Confirmed Before Congress Adjourns

DON'T MISS

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

DON'T MISS

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

DON'T MISS

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

DON'T MISS

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

DON'T MISS

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

DON'T MISS

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

DON'T MISS

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

DON'T MISS

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

UP NEXT

How About an Honest Conversation About the Range of Light Monument Proposal?

UP NEXT

Fresno Doctors Will Pay $2.4 Million to Settle Kickback Allegations, DOJ Says

UP NEXT

These Fresno Schools Are Unsafe and in Bad Condition. And No One Is Complaining

UP NEXT

Is Fresno Mobile Home Park Controversy Over? Tenants Applaud Federal Judge’s Ruling

UP NEXT

Bulldogs Stack Double-Doubles Like Burgers on a Plate to Beat Prairie View

UP NEXT

Fresno County Men Arrested in Armed Robbery Near Sanger High, Sanger Academy

UP NEXT

Conservative Professors and Students Are Beating CA Community Colleges in Court

UP NEXT

How Trump Can Earn a Place in History That He Did Not Expect

UP NEXT

Suspect Arrested After Oakhurst Crime Spree Leaves K9 Injured

UP NEXT

With or Without Lockridge, Can Bulldogs Get Out of Their Own Way to Become Bowl Eligible?

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

2 hours ago

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

2 hours ago

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

2 hours ago

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

3 hours ago

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

3 hours ago

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

3 hours ago

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

4 hours ago

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

4 hours ago

Jussie Smollett’s Conviction in 2019 Attack on Himself Is Overturned

4 hours ago

Fresno Council Lowers Speed Limits on Friant and Audubon

4 hours ago

North Korean Leader Says Past Diplomacy Only Confirmed US Hostility

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his past negotiations with the United States only confirmed Washington’s ...

45 minutes ago

45 minutes ago

North Korean Leader Says Past Diplomacy Only Confirmed US Hostility

51 minutes ago

Democrats Strike Deal to Get More Biden Judges Confirmed Before Congress Adjourns

2 hours ago

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

President Joe Biden with Mary Barra, the chief executive of General Motors, at the Detroit Auto Show, Sept. 14, 2022. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to erase the Biden administration’s tailpipe rules designed to get carmakers to produce electric vehicles, but most U.S. automakers want to keep them. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
2 hours ago

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

2 hours ago

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

2 hours ago

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally at First Horizon Coliseum, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Greensboro, NC. (AP/Alex Brandon)
3 hours ago

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

3 hours ago

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend