HUBBARD — With it being a little more than a year since the city approved the sale of adult-use recreational marijuana through an election, officials were curious about where things stood with the portion of the state’s tax funds.

Toward the end of Monday’s city council meeting, Council President William Williams asked Michael Villano, the city’s auditor, if the city has received any money from the tax on marijuana sales. Villano said he has received employment taxes from the dispensary’s employees, but not state taxes.

“To my understanding, all of that is held up at the state level; they put a halt on those distributions, and nothing has been made,” Villano said.

Villano said he “didn’t know” if state officials lied when they said the city would be getting 10% of the state’s 35% tax.

Mayor Ben Kyle said he attended a mayor’s meeting and noted that every community was in the same boat in terms of waiting.

“There was the 10% of that tax that was under the local, and then all of a sudden they threw that curveball, and they were going to change it to 8%,” Kyle said. “There was a lot of things, but I would be more than happy to reach out to our state representatives and get an update.”

Kyle said he was sure many people were anxious to see if or how much money the city would receive — if anything comes.

NILES

Niles Mayor Steven Mientkiewicz, whose council approved having a recreational dispensary in town in June 2024, said Senate Bill 56 passed last week and Gov. Mike DeWine is expected to sign it into law.

The bill maintains the 10% excise tax on adult-use cannabis sales that was established by the voter-approved initiative, Issue 2. It also preserves the intent for 36% of the excise tax revenue to go to the municipalities and townships that host dispensaries, covering a delay in the funds’ release.

“Once that goes into place, it establishes the appropriate means for the host community cannabis areas, such as Niles,” Mientkiewicz said. “We will hopefully be expecting a return on that marijuana tax in 2026.”

Mientkiewicz said that with the ups and downs and talks about reducing or eliminating the tax funds to cities altogether, there have been a lot of talks with local legislators and lobbying by elected officials and councils that host the dispensaries.

“It was up in the air and in limbo throughout 2025, but it was refreshing to see that the legislature listened to the issues that were coming out of the communities that do host these dispensaries, and ultimately siding with the will of the people who did vote for the guidelines established in Issue 2 as it pertains to the host community cannabis fund,” he said. “I know myself and our council members have been eagerly awaiting an established long-term revenue stream via these tax dollars.”

Mientkiewicz said he and city council will have conversations about how to use the tax dollars to improve Niles, calling it a “big selling point” when they spoke with the legislature about the funds.

“This was a great opportunity for the city to recognize a long-term revenue stream via these cannabis funds,” Mientkiewicz said. “So we don’t have to go back to voters for certain initiatives, for roads, for parks, for other services we can put these funds toward.”