BILLINGS — A enterprise license from Billings to arrange a marijuana cultivation or manufacturing operation on the town may price near $4,000 below a proposal being weighed by town council.
Leisure marijuana and the companies related to it go dwell statewide on Jan. 1. Billings voters final month rejected allowing recreational marijuana storefronts to function inside metropolis limits, however medical marijuana dispensaries and companies that target cultivation, manufacturing, testing, storing and transporting adult-use hashish will be legal.
Council members now are working to determine our how a lot town ought to cost these teams to acquire a enterprise license. Metropolis employees proposed as a lot as $4,750 for a particular license.
“That is about attempting to recoup our prices,” stated metropolis administrator Chris Kukulski.
Initially, employees proposed charging a unique payment for every of the forms of companies primarily based on how a lot every would price town to watch and examine. Andy Zoeller, town’s finance director, estimated that it will price town $68,190 a yr to manage the varied marijuana companies.
Of that $68,190, Zoeller calculated that $52,887 can be spent on code enforcement. From there, he cut up the prices throughout six enterprise classes and factored them into the payment for the enterprise license. Manufacturing was on the excessive finish at $4,750. On the low finish was transportation at $55.
A regular Billings enterprise license is $55.
However somewhat than have a unique payment for every sort of enterprise, council members ended up asking employees to give you a flat payment mannequin the place every enterprise sort is charged the identical payment. Averaged out, it will be roughly $3,700 per license.
Council will vote on a closing enterprise license payment proposal at its Dec. 20 assembly.
Medical marijuana dispensaries and the non-storefront components of the leisure marijuana enterprise shall be restricted to these areas within the metropolis which can be zoned industrial and heavy business, and sit no less than 1,000 ft from neighborhoods, colleges, church buildings, parks, dependancy restoration facilities and youth facilities.
