The City of Fresno’s budget hearings kicked off on Monday with bold projections for future revenues from the city’s cannabis tax.
Those projections come after years of underperformance, though the city expects half a dozen additional dispensaries to open in the next fiscal year.
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The big picture: Mayor Jerry Dyer’s administration is projecting $7.12 million in cannabis tax revenue in Fiscal Year 2025.
- That would be a 214.9 percent increase from fiscal year 2024, which is projected to finish at $2.26 million. It would be a year-over-year increase of $4.9 million.
What we’re watching: Fresno Budget Director Henry Fierro told the City Council on Monday that the city has 13 cannabis dispensaries currently operating during FY 24.
- Fierro said the city expects to grow that number to 19 over the following year, which fuels the high projections.
Flashback: Fresno’s lofty projections for its cannabis tax revenue have not come true in the past two years.
- Two years ago the city initially budgeted $5.3 million in cannabis sales tax revenue, but the end total ended up being $1.575.
- FY 24’s end total of $2.26 million was also a far cry from that year’s projection of $5.38 million.
