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The village of Marathon Board of Trustees are planning to hold a public hearing at its meeting on Wednesday in regards to New York state’s marijuana regulation and taxation bill.
The public hearing/meeting is slated for 7 p.m. at the village’s civic center building at Lovell Field, which is located at the corner of Brink Street and Peck Street.
In March, New York state legalized the recreational use of marijuana for adults 21 or older. The state is giving municipalities until Dec. 31 of this year to opt out of allowing marijuana retail sales and on-site consumption establishments. If municipalities don’t take action, dispensaries and on-site consumption are automatically legal at the beginning of next year.
Mayor Bill McGovern on Monday said a drafted local law is in place to opt out the village out of allowing dispensaries and on-site consumption establishments.
A decision on the local law will not be made on the night of the hearing, McGovern said. The decision, however, could be finalized at the village’s next meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 18.
Monday was the last day the village could’ve had a mandatory referendum to put the decision to a vote in this year’s general election. A permissive referendum can be considered down the road if a village resident can get 20% of signatures from registered voters.
“This is why a decision won’t be made the night of the hearing,” McGovern said. “If there’s an overwhelming amount of residents who speak at the hearing, making a decision in a couple of weeks will give the board time to digest and see what we can do.”
McGovern is in favor of opting out of both parts of the MRTA bill, adding that he is not in favor of the state legalizing marijuana.
“Not opting out this year means you’re in it for life,” he said. “If we opt out this year and it looks like a good program down the road, we can opt back in.”
While dispensaries and on-site consumption establishments would bring in sales tax revenue for the village, McGovern predicts only 1% of sales tax revenue will come out of marijuana-related businesses.
“I don’t anticipate a lot of sales within the village that are going to make a big difference in taxes and spending,” he added.
Town of Marathon officials declined to comment on its stance revolving around the state’s MRTA bill.
