City can’t afford to delay opening up of dispensaries
Why the wait?
That’s the question we have for Emergency Manager Cathy Square when it comes to allowing medical marijuana dispensaries to open up and operate.
Square has put the brakes on allowing dispensaries to open until she appoints a city manager. She wants the city manager to handle the matter.
That’s fine, but it’s been months since two city managers have interviewed for the job. Square admitted she is having a hard time coming to contract terms with a person being considered for the job.
And while we wait and wait, Hamtramck is losing out on collecting taxes from new businesses.
We have heard from several would-be operators who are confused about the delay. After all, the city has an ordinance on the books regulating the business, and voters statewide previously approved allowing medical marijuana dispensaries.
Hamtramck has too many vacant storefronts to justify holding off from allowing this type of business to move in.
Emergency Manager Square has told The Review that her role here is limited mainly to fixing the financial crisis. That’s certainly the main focus of her job.
She has suggested we read the law regarding emergency managers and we did.
According to Act 436, Section 141.1549, here are the duties of an EM:
“Upon appointment, an emergency manager shall act for and in the place and stead of the governing body and the office of chief administrative officer of the local government.
“The emergency manager shall have broad powers in receivership to rectify the financial emergency and to assure the fiscal accountability of the local government and the local government’s capacity to provide or cause to be provided necessary governmental services essential to the public health, safety, and welfare.
“Following appointment of an emergency manager and during the pendency of receivership, the governing body and the chief administrative officer of the local government shall not exercise any of the powers of those offices except as may be specifically authorized in writing by the emergency manager or as otherwise provided by this act and are subject to any conditions required by the emergency manager.”
In our reading of this, it’s clear that the power of running a city rests solely with the emergency manager.
Square has delegated economic development to an appointee, Kathy Angerer. Let Angerer handle this job, and allow the dispensaries to open up.
Hamtramck needs all the tax dollars it can get, now.
One Response to City can’t afford to delay opening up of dispensaries
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Jim
July 14, 2014 at 10:52 am
Doesn’t the city have enough problems with drugs? When I lived in Allen Park, there were a few of these facilities and they did not cater to the “medical” crowd much at all. The city started to go down until most of them were shut down. They were raided every other day from the cops because off all the trouble the facilities brought in.
Lets be clear on one thing, the legalization of marijuana is nothing but a scam. You want to tear down and destroy a city, legalize marijuana. Greedy companies that don’t care about the health or well being of the people they hurt are the only people who benefit from selling this drug.
Alcohol companies do not make money off of the occasional drinker. They make their money off of the alcoholics. Those who drink in access. The same will be true for marijuana distributors. They know they will not make money off of the occasional smoker or the person who has a medical need. They are betting their profits people will buy in access and not occasional. They don’t care about our fine city and they don’t care about the effects it will have on our people.