SARANAC LAKE — The North Elba Town Council passed a cannabis tax revenue policy on Tuesday that will earmark funds for local youth, elderly community members and law enforcement as well as the town’s general fund.
The board also passed a cash management policy and discussed granting paid holidays to full-time seasonal town employees and sponsoring the Lake Placid Center for the Arts for a renovation grant.
The town’s cannabis revenue policy comes after several months of discussion. Following the opening of the Elevate ADK dispensary on the North Elba side of the village of Saranac Lake last fall, North Elba now receives significant revenue through New York state’s excise tax on cannabis sales. North Elba receives 50% of Elevate’s local taxes; the other half goes to Saranac Lake. As of Wednesday, the town has received $61,586.80 in cannabis tax revenue for 2024.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the final policy was approved unanimously by the board. Under the new policy, funds will be disbursed through a new grant program based on several priorities: community programming for school-age children, public safety and law enforcement and support for aging community members.
If cannabis revenue continues to rise, some funds may go into the town’s general fund. The policy states that, at the end of a “rolling 12-month period,” if the fund’s balance is more than 75% of the total revenue from the previous 12 months, then the remainder of the funds — that is, anything over that 75% — will be transferred to the general fund.
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