Joliet council gets update on use of local cannabis tax

City manager says there is no state mandate on how Joliet spends local share of cannabis tax

Joliet City Manager James Capparelli gave an update on the city’s obligations for cannabis tax revenue, telling the City Council on Monday that there are no mandates on how the money is used.

The city has yet to decide whether to designate the 3% tax that Joliet collects off of recreational cannabis sales to a special purpose. Some have called for a portion of the money to be used in neighborhoods considered to have been adversely affected by the War on Drugs and enforcement of narcotics laws.

Capparelli’s report on Monday followed a council meeting earlier this month at which council members and two residents discussed a presumed obligation to spend a portion of cannabis tax revenue on special programs related to past drug law enforcement.

“That is a state program,” Capparelli told the council. “It is funded and administered by the state.”

James Capparelli addresses the City Council ahead of his appointment as the new city manager on Friday, Jan. 8, 2021, at Joiliet City Hall in Joliet, Ill.

A portion of state tax revenue from cannabis sales is dedicated to the program, but Joliet’s portion goes into the city’s general revenue fund with no mandate on how it should be used, he said.

He compared the cannabis tax to Joliet’s portion of sales tax revenue from retailers, which is collected by the state and then distributed to the city.

“They give us that sales tax. The cannabis tax is lumped into that,” Capparelli said.

While there is no mandate on use of local cannabis tax revenue, the council could decide to use it for a special purpose, Capparelli added.

Just how much money Joliet is collecting from cannabis tax has not been made public. The city cannot disclose the amount because there are only two cannabis dispensaries, and state law bars disclosure on the basis that it would reveal proprietary sales information about those businesses, according to the city’s finance director.

Still, Councilwoman Bettye Gavin and Garland Mays, president of the Forest Park Neighborhood Council, argued that Joliet redistribute a portion of that money to neighborhoods on the East Side and near West Side.

Despite voicing concerns, councilwoman Bettye Gavin votes to approve James Capparelli as city manager on Friday, Jan. 8, 2021, at Joliet City Hall in Joliet, Ill.

“I would like to see the city of Joliet partner with the community that has been severely damaged by this – by the War on Drugs,” Gavin said at the Monday meeting. “I would like for my colleagues here to look at that.”

Gavin suggested the city consider using a portion of the money for scholarships, grants and youth programs.

Mays, who has called on the city to spend cannabis tax revenue on neighborhood programs since Joliet approved recreational marijuana sales, said he still believes Joliet should pursue a special purpose for the money.

“We can still put a plan together that would be beneficial,” Mays said.