Politicians are slow learners and Lompoc has some of the slowest.
When Proposition 64 was passed, voters approved a 15 percent sales tax. Eager politicians sensed a cash cow; they just knew that legalizing this product would reap millions for cash-strapped governments. They dreamed of new giveaway programs for non-productive citizens, illegal aliens, and others who contribute little to the economy.
Well, now that cannabis sales are legal in Lompoc, it’s time to start collecting those taxes.
Just so you won’t think that cannabis users are being targeted, consider the $2.87 per pack—that’s 14 cents a cigarette—tax on tobacco; the gasoline tax is 42 cents a gallon; and the tax on distilled spirits less than 100 proof is $3.30 a gallon.
On March 20, the Lompoc City Council tax discussion started with a presentation by a consulting group hired to explain how other municipal and county governments are handling the issue. Information indicated that other jurisdictions have imposed anywhere from 5 to 10 percent on sales, $5 to $25 a square foot for cultivation facilities, and that in each jurisdiction where a cannabis tax was placed on the ballot that nearly 60 percent of voters supported it. In other words, these tax measures always pass.
As the discussion unfolded, Councilmember Jim Mosby said, “We have a lot of vacant buildings out there, a lot of empty buildings, and I really think that we need to do what we can to entice (business) into this community.” He is intimately familiar with the vacancy rate because he manages several empty commercial properties that are that way largely because of their pungent odor and generally rundown condition.
According to press reports (“Tax haven (weed oasis),” March 29), Mosby added later that he didn’t want the City Council to be “blinded” by tax dollars or make any potential future moves to limit or ban cannabis activities in the city. After several years on the council he still hasn’t figured out that it costs money to provide government services to his constituents.
Councilmember Jenelle Osborne campaigned to bring commercial cannabis into the city; she has consistently said that she intended to bring funding to help support much-needed services without “stripping the industry of its profits.”
Mosby continued to press his case; eventually he made a motion to not put anything before the voters. As with many other feckless moves by Mosby, both of his lemmings—council members Dirk Starbuck and Victor Vega—voted with him to deny allowing the democratic process a chance to work.
Because the three had just given the cannabis industry a huge gift and that Mosby intends to continue offering them incentives, we must ask ourselves what he and the others might be getting out of the deal. They just gave the cannabis industry an increase in their profit margin and didn’t even break a sweat.
The actions of these three is disconcerting. Osborne said, “It is irresponsible of us to think that zero tax is an incentive.” She was right considering how other products are taxed and still sell in copious quantities.
The leadership history of these three is clear—they will always gravitate to the lowest common denominator in every decision they make. They seem unable to realize the irreparable harm they bring to city government and the citizens it serves.
This November election should be pivotal for Lompoc; it’s past time to start filtering the lemmings out of the swamp.
Ron Fink is a resident of Lompoc. Send your thoughts to letters@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Apr 5-12, 2018.
