AURORA | As more and more Aurora residents are getting higher, so, too, could the city’s share of taxes they pay to partake in local recreational marijuana — and homeless people may benefit from the potential hike.
Total taxes on recreational pot, however, would stay the same because of an upcoming change in state law.
Next July, Aurora city officials are looking to increase the city’s marijuana sales tax from 5.75 percent to 7.75 percent. The measure was approved by Aurora City Council members to move to a regular city council session Sept. 12. City officials said the tax increase in 2017 would give the city an additional $750,000 on top of the $1.5 million it expects annually from marijuana sales.
City officials said the increase would be a wash for pot customers because, in June of next year, the state sales tax on recreational marijuana will decrease from 10 percent to 8 percent, according to rules set by House Bill 15-1367 that was passed in 2015. Aurora At-large Councilman Bob LeGare, who proposed the measure, said it would be a way to fund more homeless services in Aurora, specifically a day center.
Some Aurora City Council members were hesitant to dedicate more marijuana money specifically to homeless issues. Earlier this year, council dedicated $1.5 million annually through 2018 to helping the city’s homeless.
“Although I like spending it for addressing the homeless, when I initiated for it to be approved by voters for us to increase these taxes, I was thinking about taking care of our roads,” said Aurora Ward II Councilwoman Renie Peterson. “I’m at a loss for how I feel about this.”
Aurora At-large Councilwoman Barb Cleland said homeless services are the purview of the counties Aurora resides in —Arapahoe, Adams and Douglas — and should not be Aurora’s responsibility.
“We sit in three counties. We do not get a lot of help from the counties,” Cleland said. “The counties get money for the homeless stuff; it’s not necessarily the city’s job to take care of it.”
Aurora Ward VI Councilwoman Francoise Bergan said she would only support the measure if it went to homeless services because it could be an effect of Colorado legalizing recreational marijuana stores two years ago.
Chris woods, owner and founder of Terrapin Care Station, a medicinal and recreational marijuana chain with multiple locations including Aurora, told the Aurora Sentinel in August he would support the city in raising its sales tax once the state’s decreases.
“I don’t see a difference in the eyes of consumer,” Woods said. He said Terrapin Care Station is happy to help the city fund homeless initiatives through marijuana sales.
James Gillespie, a spokesperson for Comitis, said he has seen its Aurora shelter filled beyond capacity several times this year. Comitis is the only overnight and emergency homeless shelter located in the city, adjacent to the Anschutz Medical Campus and East Colfax Avenue.
While Aurora pot customers wouldn’t see a net change in taxes they pay for weed and edibles, the city would get more revenue under the new tax. Currently, the city only receives 15 percent from the state’s special sales tax of 10 percent.
In 2014, when the city started allowing recreational marijuana sales, Aurora voters approved the city taxing up to 10 percent for recreational marijuana.