Ventnor Commissioners, like most other NJ leaders, are being forced to weigh the pros and cons of legal marijuana sales.
Democrat Governor-elect Phil Murphy promised he would legalize pot during his first 100 days in office. Murphy can’t wait to legally twist one up. Possession and personal use of weed would be cool for adults 21+. Growing, harvesting, packaging and sales of pot would also be permitted, albeit with proper licensing & oversight.
If Ventnor and Margate say NO to legal pot sales, no tax revenue for them.
Right next door in Atlantic City, Mayor-elect Frank Gilliam is a strong advocate of legal weed. He wants pot sales to be exclusive for Atlantic City.
Even if neighboring towns like Brigantine, Ventnor & Margate say no, they’d still be impacted by the availability of nearby pot in AC.
It’s no secret that NJ Gov-elect, Phil Murphy, is hell bent on recreational, legal weed sales in New Jersey, aptly named the Garden State.
Some commissioners want public feedback on the issue. One way to do this would be a non-binding referendum, taking the temperature of voting residents. But what about the part-time homeowners that make up approx. 65% of the local tax base? What about their opinion?
If Ventnor places a referendum about LEGAL WEED on the MAY 2018 primary ballot, over half of Ventnor taxpayers would effectively be excluded from voicing their opinion. Commissioners Lance Landgraf, Tim Kriebel and Mayor Beth Holtzman would take heat once again, for ignoring 2nd homeowner concerns.
To get a more accurate assessment of taxpayer feelings, they could launch a more robust City website, complete with audio and video of official city meetings. A modern site could allow taxpayers to submit questions, comments and referendum preferences.
Ventnor, Margate, Brigantine & other Jersey Shore towns are filled with homeowners without any voting rights. They make up 65-75% of tax revenue. aka: ratables.
Local shore towns win no awards for their outreach to 2nd homeowners. (they can’t vote)
Editor’s Note: Ventnor still lags far behind other shore communities in live webcasts of Commissioner & Planning Board meetings. Even though it was part of their campaign platform for greater transparency, Ventnor Commissioners still don’t post audio of their meetings, similar to Margate, Atlantic City and Brigantine. This process is now in-expensive and easy to do. Taxpayers are demanding these platforms to keep an eye on elected officials.