Pot tax on Mosier ballot

Kathy Fitzpatrick, Mosier’s city manager and elections official, said the wording of the upcoming measure will read as follows: “Shall Mosier impose a 3 percent tax on the sale of marijuana items sold by retailers in the city?”

Voters in the state of Oregon approved the sale of marijuana in 2014, but under state law, local city councils were authorized to adopt an ordinance – which must be referred to the voters of the city — imposing a tax or fee on the sale of marijuana items within municipal boundaries. Approval of the measure would impose a 3 percent tax on the sale of marijuana items by licensed retailers. The tax would be collected at the point of sale and remitted by the marijuana retailer to the city.

According to Fitzpatrick, there are not currently any marijuana businesses in Mosier. “There are no applications,” she said. “It’s just the city council wanting to be pro-active.” Fitzpatrick said the council acted so the city is prepared in the event a marijuana business decides to locate somewhere in Mosier. “The city council has been talking about the tax, but no one showed up to give comment for or against,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s a ‘just in case.” She added that if anyone wishes to contest the ballot title or explanatory statement as written, they would need to file a petition for review of the ballot measure in Wasco County Circuit Court no later than seven business days following the date the formal Ballot Title Notice is published.

The newspaper of record, The Dalles Chronicle, has scheduled July 27 as the date for official publication of the legal notice regarding the ballot measure.