LAKEPORT — The Lake County Board of Supervisors tackled a full agenda Tuesday morning and heard from several community members about the current Cannabis crisis.
Supervisors discussed several items regarding Cannabis Tax Reform, a proposed Drought Moratorium, possible funds for the Middlecreek restoration project and the appointment of Susan Parker as interim County Administrative Officer.
California Cannabis Tax has been a topic of discussion at many board meetings the past several months. County Tax Administrator Patrick Sullivan presented a resolution that would reduce current taxes by 50 percent for this year and last year, eliminate the cultivation tax, and extend the current due date of May to October. He further suggested new due dates of January and May.
Sullivan said he is hoping “to help alleviate the concern about taxes being due before the product had been sold by pushing taxes due for the current year into the following year.” This would include providing tax credits or refunds to those who have already paid the taxes in question, a total of $1.2 million.
Multiple members of the community spoke in favor of the proposed resolution, including Kristen Callahan of Magic Meadow Farms, who said, “Family farms will be extinct if we can’t make decisions based on the reality of what the industry is facing.”
Other public comments detailed the need for more long-term reform by moving to a gross receipts tax model as surrounding counties have already done. District 2 Supervisor Bruno Sabatier said he supports this change and asked staff to look into the gross reciepts model saying, “Flat tax was not a good idea.”
District 1 Supervisor Moke Simon said he was in support of the resolution. “Things take time, we understand that, so instead of one year, two years, and maybe there will be fix between now and then.”
This resolution is to be amended to include said changes and will be brought back next Tuesday.
The Board also addressed the California State Drought Moratorium that would cease approval of any new agriculture or Cannabis projects and return for review after 45 days in an attempt to conserve water systems as we face one of the worst droughts in the state’s history.
Supervisor Sabatier outlined the moratorium, noting how the industry is rapidly changing and said change is necessary for survival of the industry.
Sarah Bodnar of the Lake County Cannabis Alliance asked those who objected to the moratorium to stand up, stating “The LCCA and everybody whose standing behind me acknowledges the drought is a problem, and we’re standing here with you today to also work on solutions. A moratorium is not one them.”
Supervisor Simon agreed, noting that change must be made in “Not just these two industries, the entire way we think about how we’re living on this Earth and how we’re dealing with it.”
The moratorium was not passed. It will be discussed further with several committees hoping to find the ultimate solution through agency cooperation.
Also discussed was the addition of the Middlecreek Project onto the state application for Armory funds where additional funding is available and could potentially be used for the necessary maintenance.
The Board also emerged from closed session to announce the appointment of Susan Parker to the position of interim County Administrative Officer. Parker has more than 20 years experience in government and, according to the County Facebook page, Parker said, “It is a great honor to have been selected for this interim role and I look forward to continuing to serve Lake County residents.”
