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<\/p>\nArnold, CA…For the past few weeks Calaveras County has felt like a slow moving train wreck.\u00a0 There is a tremendous amount of noise in any train wreck, but in this case no one is listening. And no one seems to notice that the train wreck is actually the future of Calaveras County. The train left the station in May of 2016 when the Calaveras Board of Supervisors passed an \u201cUrgency Ordinance\u201d with a vote of 4 to 1. The ordinance prescribed rules and regulations for the legal cultivation of cannabis in Calaveras County.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
By November, the four County Supervisors who voted \u2018yes\u2019 were out of a job. Two lost in recall elections and the other two declined to seek reelection.<\/p>\n
The result is a Board of Supervisors with no institutional memory, and except for one member, zero practical experience as elected officials. They are driving blind. They think the red handle in the engine cab is the brake, but it\u2019s actually the accelerator.<\/p>\n
To add to the confusion, Jack Garamendi, the only moderate member of the board, was served with a recall petition last week for his support of tightly regulated cannabis cultivation. <\/p>\n
The opinions of Calaveras residents are no less head spinning than the 180-degree turn made by the Board of Supervisors.<\/p>\n
Measure C, which would have taxed the cannabis industry in Calaveras County, passed easily in November, 2016 with a 68% margin. On the same ballot, voters defeated Measure D, which would have set permanent regulations for the cannabis industry.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s only fair to admit that I also worked though my own change of heart. Although I strongly believe that simple possession of marijuana should be decriminalized, I voted against Proposition 64 which legalized recreational use of marijuana in California.<\/p>\n
However, on the same ballot I voted for Measure D. My thinking was that if Prop 64 failed, the Calaveras cannabis management plan would be unnecessary. But if it passed, the cultivation plan would be an intelligent and orderly mechanism with which to manage its growth, provide for strict environmental protections, and run the illegal growers out of town.<\/p>\n
Central to any discussion regarding regulated cannabis cultivation in Calaveras are the economic impacts for a county that is among the poorest in the state. A recent study by the University of the Pacific (UOP) looked at the question.<\/p>\n
Their analysis focused only on commercial growers who registered under the Urgency Ordinance and measured the financial impact of a single year; 2016.
\n Their conclusions are jaw dropping:
\n Sales value (gross): $251 million
\n Direct employment (jobs): 2,605
\n Direct labor income (wages): $148 million<\/p>\n
When you add the potential sales figures from local stores and services provided by local contractors the total financial impact for one year of cannabis cultivation rises to $339 million!<\/p>\n
If a complete ban on the cultivation of cannabis is approved by the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors – and right now it looks like it will pass 3-2 or even 4-1 – here\u2019s what\u2019s likely to happen:<\/p>\n
\u2022 The $339 million impact on the local economy, along with the tax revenues, and the 2,605 jobs forecast by UOP, will leave Calaveras County and likely, never return.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Calaveras will be forced to refund the $7 million dollars that has been collected from growers. The County has already spent $3.7 million dollars on permit processing, inspections, and regulations. They borrowed additional funds from the General Fund for law enforcement to eradicate illegal grows and promised to to pay it back from future taxes on growers.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Currently, the County has no surplus funds, so in order to refund the $3.7 million dollars in fees they already spent, more money will have to come from the General Fund.<\/p>\n
\u2022 According to the County Administrative Officer, Tim Lutz, the General Fund is looking at a $5.1 million structural deficit for the current fiscal year. The General Fund can only be balanced by eliminating programs and cutting staff – friends and neighbors who work on our roads, provide public safety, and keep local government functioning.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Those growers who made their applications, paid their fees, and invested millions of dollars for infrastructure will not be happy with the ban. It\u2019s fairly certain that many growers will sue Calaveras County to recoup their losses. And given the contradictory actions of the Board of Supervisors, they will present a very strong case. The payout for litigation and settlements could easily run to tens of millions of dollars. These payouts could exceed the County\u2019s liability insurance and the insurers could cite the flip-flop decisions by the Board as grounds for refusing to pay the claims.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Either the County will float a bond to pay the claims, forcing property owners to pay interest and principle for decades, or in the worst case, file for bankruptcy.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Should bankruptcy occur, every property owner will see the value of their real estate decline, every business will watch their bottom line shrink, and every economically challenged person will find little or no help at the county level.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the train wreck no one is hearing, and that\u2019s the sound it\u2019s already making.<\/p>\n
If you care about the future of Calaveras County, if you don\u2019t want to see your taxes wasted on cleaning up a train wreck that can be prevented, and if you don\u2019t want to watch the value of your home or earnings from your business plummet, you only have one choice.<\/p>\n
Pick up the phone, call your County Supervisor and tell them to stop the runaway train and stop the ban. Make sure that they clearly understand that you will not sit still while they destroy Calaveras County.<\/p>\n
And be sure to tell them that come next election, you will never forget who was driving the train.<\/p>\n
Supervisor District One – Gary Tofanelli – San Andreas, Valley Springs – (209) 286-9002
\nSupervisor District Two – Jack Garamendi – Mokelumne Hill, Mountain Ranch – (209) 286-9003
\nSupervisor District Three – Michael Oliveira – Arnold, Murphys – (209) 286-9007
\nSupervisor District Four – Dennis Mills – Angels Camp, Copperopolis – (209) 286-9050
\nSupervisor District Five – Clyde Clapp – Rancho Calaveras – (209) 286-9059<\/p>\n
David Vassar is a Writer and Resident of Calaveras County<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Arnold, CA…For the past few weeks Calaveras County has felt like a slow moving train wreck.\u00a0 There is a tremendous amount of noise in any train wreck, but in this case no one is listening. And no one seems to notice that the train wreck is actually the future of Calaveras County. The train left […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25991,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,1,143,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-news","category-opinion","category-san-andreas","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Soapbox7.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46527"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46527\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}