24-05-2025
Clifton says no to cannabis businesses, in spite of budget woes
CLIFTON — For the third time, the city has opposed allowing any type of cannabis business within its borders.
Faced with a budget gap, three of the city's seven council members have pressed for a partial lift of the ban on the regulated cannabis businesses, such as growing, manufacturing cannabis products, or warehousing.
The three council members argued the city has a revenue problem, and rather than relying only on property tax increases or cutting back expenses, the city should permit portions of the cannabis industry that do not involve retail sales.
The city, they said, has been struggling for years to keep costs under control. This year the city started the budget process with an $8 million chasm in expenses to revenue.
The city is in the middle of budget talks and has discussed possibly using $12 million of its $14 million in surplus, combined with a hike in the municipal tax rate at 4%. There are still cuts to be made, they said, when budget talks are expected to resume in June.
The Council voted not to allow cannabis businesses on May 20. It was the third time. The city attempted to revisit the issue last year and when cannabis was first legalized in the state in 2021.
Council members Chris D'Amato, Joe Kolodziej and Rosemary Pino said they weren't asking for the city to permit retail sales, just other aspects of cannabis business.
Koldziej argued that there is money to be made in areas of manufacturing and cultivation. Boonton, he said, has brought in $1.3 million in cannabis taxes from cultivating.
"If we are going to avoid raising taxes, we need a revenue source," Kolodziej said. "This is a huge untapped revenue source."
More: Clifton not focusing on hiring a new city manager as it faces a number of issues
Pino agreed and said the city should at least entertain the idea. It may not be a panacea, but it should help.
D'Amato said that, given the city's situation, he wouldn't support any budget that depletes the city's budget surplus.
"I will not vote for a budget that does not have more cuts and more revenue sources than what we were last presented. We need both," he said. "My colleagues can't continue to reject revenue streams and reject cuts without also bringing alternatives to the table."
D'Amato said the city has already foregone the advantages of getting involved early with the licensing process. Even so, there are still opportunities to attract some cannabis businesses.
After the matter was dropped, D'Amato said the obstinacy of his peers who oppose cannabis businesses only hurts the city's taxpayers.
"The tree that doesn't bend breaks," he said, "and this council is as broken as I've ever seen it."
In opposition to cannabis businesses in the city were council members Bill Gibson, Tony Latona, Mary Sadrakula and Mayor Ray Grabowski.
Gibson said he doesn't like the whole industry. He said he does not want that kind of business, whether it's manufacturing or cultivating.
"Somewhere along the line, it is going to filter down to where I don't think it should be," Gibson said.
Latona argued that tax revenues, while impressive, are bound to a point of diminishing returns. Over-expansion and "cannibalization" as companies compete to take in a piece of the market share may soon mean less revenue than anticipated.
State figures show taxes collected from cannabis sales are climbing.
According to the state Cannabis Regulatory Commission, in 2022, statewide sales topped $500 million, which brought in $20 million in tax revenue.
In 2024, sales topped $1 billion in sales and $61 million in tax revenue. In Passaic, one manufacturing facility on Eighth Street brought in $100,000 in taxes, Mayor Hector Lora said.
Passaic's Business Administrator, Rick Fernandez, said the cannabis business is doing well and plans to add cannabis oil extraction to its operations and may also look to cultivate.
Paterson collected $2 million through cannabis revenue tax in 2024.
Clifton is not alone in its opposition to cannabis. As of February 2025, approximately two-thirds, or 376, of New Jersey's 564 municipalities do not allow cannabis businesses.
This article originally appeared on Clifton NJ says no to marijuana businesses amid budget woes
