To the editor:
I urge you to vote yes for a third marijuana store in Manitou Springs.
Vote yes for local government transparency. Political insiders don’t want you to know how revenues from marijuana taxes are being spent. Voting yes for a third marijuana store will mean the city can no longer operate in the dark. Residents deserve to know exactly how much revenue is being generated and exactly what it is spent on.
We won’t know unless we vote yes on Jan. 18.
What types of spending are being hidden from you? City Council has unfettered and unchecked access to spend approximately half of its entire sales tax revenues created by marijuana without having to report how it was spent. Vote yes on Jan. 18 to get the answers.
City Council punted this issue to the voters in September 2021 rather than act on it themselves. This is a citizen-led initiative and City Council should not interfere. The will of the people should not be subverted by the voices of a chosen “elected” few. It’s our time for our vote to be counted. Vote yes now.
Why don’t they want Manitou residents to know how much money they collect from marijuana sales tax revenues? In 2019, the city voted to permanently limit the store total to two stores, creating a bi-monopoly. This week, they will increase the retail sales tax to consumers from 6 percent to 10 percent, which will create more marijuana revenue they won’t be required to report.
How many millions of dollars does City Council not report to the public? Vote yes Jan. 18 and find out.
Please hold our local government accountable. Vote yes on Jan. 18.
Scott Hunt is a Manitou Springs business owner and presenter for this initiative