It looks like voters across Jefferson County will be asked in April to approve a 3-percent sales tax to be charged on recreational marijuana purchases.
The County Council voted 6-0 on Nov. 27 to give preliminary approval to placing the issue on the April 2 ballot. The council may take a final vote on Dec. 11.
Council member Charles Groeteke (District 4, Barnhart) has championed the idea of placing the issue on the ballot since Missouri voters approved a measure in November 2022 allowing “adult use” recreational marijuana sales to people 21 and older. In February, facilities with licenses to sell medical marijuana began selling it for recreational use as well.
As part of the statewide measure voters passed, Missouri charges a 6-percent sales tax on those purchases. Cities and counties may ask their voters to approve an additional 3-percent sales tax.
“I started to bring this up as soon as it got passed,” Groeteke said. “We’ve been working on it for more than a year now.”
One reason the county was hesitant to place the issue before voters earlier is that it’s not yet clear whether the county may impose its tax on top of those approved by voters in particular cities.
In April 2022, voters in Festus, Herculaneum, Hillsboro and Pevely approved a 3-percent sales tax to be charged on recreational marijuana sales, and Arnold voters followed suit in November 2023.
Hillsboro, Pevely and Festus have marijuana dispensaries. In addition, dispensaries are located in several unincorporated areas in the county, including Imperial, High Ridge, House Springs and south of Festus.
“The way we have written the legislation will allow us to do that (“stack” a county tax on top of a city tax), and we’ll let somebody challenge us,” County Executive Dennis Gannon said. “As people collect more and more taxes, we’ll see how it plays out.”
Counties and municipalities may not charge a sales tax on medical marijuana sales, but the state charges a 4-percent sales tax on those purchases, according to state statute.
Gannon said he has no estimate for how much a countywide recreational marijuana sales tax might generate.
“The revenue figures for these operations is something of a secret, so we don’t really know,” he said. “I would be interested in seeing how much it might bring us.”
As a point of comparison, Gannon pointed to recent news reports that St. Louis lost out on at least $500,000 in the final three months of the year because no one filed paperwork with the state to collect the tax after voters there approved it in April 2023.
“The city only has 80,000 more people than we have in Jefferson County, and I’d guess we have more disposable income,” he said. “So that may or may not be a reasonable estimate. But I can tell you that (not filing paperwork with the state) is not going to happen to us.”
Whatever a tax may generate, questions already have arisen about how it might be spent.
Gannon said he’d prefer to see flexibility with how the money could be used.
“The problem is if you dedicate it and restrict it (by legislation), once that purpose that you’re restricting it for has been paid for, there’s a problem. I’d like to see it put in the general revenue budget as a line item so that everyone knows how much money is coming in and the County Council will always have the authority to say how it can be used,” he said.
Groeteke said he’d like to see any money generated by the tax used to pay down the county’s debt service on bonds.
“Just like a household, we should make sure we’re trying to pay our debts off first,” he said. “I believe it’s more or less a sin tax that’s going to be paid only by the people who use it. My major concern, as it has been all along, is where this money is going to be going.”
Groeteke said he may introduce a resolution, which is non-binding, to that effect on Dec. 11.
Imperial resident Alan Leaderbrand said Nov. 27 that he’d like to see the proceeds dedicated to building a new county courthouse and jail.
“At least for a period of time,” he said. “After a time, it could default to general revenue or something else. But if voters don’t have any details (on how the tax would be dedicated), they’re not going to write a blank check.”
Gannon said the county government would not be able to promote the campaign to pass the tax.
“It would have to come from private donations,” he said. “We can’t use county funds for it. But it seems like everyone’s agreeable to this, at least the people I talk with who say they’re not going to have to pay for it anyway.”