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[COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR]RESOLUTION NO. 230159

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Sponsor:  Mayor Quinton Lucas

RESOLUTION - Expressing the City Council’s intent on allowable uses of potential revenues from a proposed three percent (3%) adult use marijuana sales tax

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WHEREAS, Ordinance No. 220998 called for the submission to the voters of Kansas City, at an election to be held on the general municipal election date prescribed by Section 115.121.3, RSMo, of Tuesday, April 4, 2023, a question of whether to impose an additional sales tax of three percent (3%) on the retail sale of adult use marijuana; and

WHEREAS, the Missouri Constitution permits voters in cities to impose an additional sales tax of three percent (3%) on the retail sale of adult use marijuana; and

WHEREAS, the Missouri Constitution permits voters in cities to impose an additional sales tax on the retail sale of adult use marijuana to support efforts such as equitable neighborhood quality of life in the city, homeless prevention and outreach, and violence prevention and intervention initiatives;

WHEREAS, the Department of Public Works’ Solid Waste Division is responsible for the abatement of neighborhood dumping and trash removal; and

WHEREAS, the Housing Department is responsible for implementing community-wide strategies to expedite assistance to the houseless and those at-risk of becoming houseless and creating strategies to reduce houselessness and generational poverty; and

WHEREAS, the Health Department is responsible for implementing holistic and evidence-based programs aimed at eradicating the root causes of crime, building healthy families, and fortifying strong communities to combat the public health crisis that is gun violence; and

WHEREAS, Partners for Peace is a collaboration between the City of Kansas City, the Kansas City Police Department, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, Jackson County COMBAT, and dozens of on-the-ground community organizations to disrupt volatile situations in real time to save lives; and

WHEREAS, further action will be needed to codify these funds and create a Partners for Peace Governing Board if the 3% adult use marijuana tax is passed by the voters; NOW, THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF KANSAS CITY:

Section 1.  That the City Council hereby expresses its intent on distributing any potential revenue from a proposed 3% adult use marijuana sales tax in the following manner:

a)                     1/3rd for trash pick-up/neighborhood clean-up via the Public Works Department/Solid Waste Management Division;

b)                     1/3rd to expand homelessness response efforts via the Housing Department, including increasing shelter capacity, transitional and “extremely affordable” housing funding, and bolstering service provider responses to help people transition off the streets; and

c)                     1/3rd to expand violence prevention efforts via the Health Department.

Section 2.  That the City Council hereby expresses its desire to establish eligible uses and priorities for violence prevention funds in the Department of Health.

a.                     Eligible Uses.  The eligible uses of violence prevention funds received from a proposed 3% adult use marijuana sales tax are: (1) mental and behavioral health programs, (2) violence prevention and outreach programs, (3) reentry supports, 4) temporary or permanent relocation and services for victims, witnesses, or families affected by violent crime, 5) workforce development programming, (6) conflict resolution programming, and (7) to advance the economic mobility of individuals who have been involved in the justice system due to marijuana use.

b.                     Administration.  Any funding going to outside agencies shall be allocated through a competitive process, with staff support from the Health Department as needed.

c.                     Priorities.  The Health Commission, shall prioritize funds for evidence-backed programming to combat violent crime, for programs serving individuals under the age of 25, and for agencies that receive 10% or less of their annual operating budget from the Jackson County Community Backed Anti-Drug Tax (COMBAT) during the current or upcoming fiscal year.

d.                     Administration Funds.  Up to 5% of funds can be used to cover costs of administering  violence prevention funds.

e.                     Eligible applicants: nonprofits or City departments, with priority for participating Partners for Peace agencies.

f.                     Annual Report.  The Health Department shall submit an annual report to the City Council on the impact of the fund.

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