Proposed 2026-27 Budget

Overall Budget Summary

The Proposed Budget recommends reducing staffing to 1.85 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions, including negotiated salary and benefit increases. Appropriations total $685,611, funded by revenues of $240,900 and a General Fund Contribution of $444,711.

The Budget includes a decrease in total revenues of $62,100 due to fewer active cannabis licenses. While the licensing fee structure has been updated, continued market contraction and business consolidation result in a net loss of licensees and reduced fee revenue. Total expenses decrease by $177,710, primarily due to a reduction in staff hours to align staffing costs with projected workload and available resources.

The net result of the Proposed Budget is an overall net decrease of $115,610.

Cannabis Market Contraction: Continued contraction in the cannabis industry has resulted in fewer active businesses operating within the County. Market pressures, including price compression, competition, and regulatory costs, contribute to business consolidation and license attrition. For Fiscal Year (FY) 2026-27, this trend reduces anticipated licensing fee revenue and contributes to a $62,100 decline. In the future, continued market instability may further reduce the number of licensees, requiring ongoing adjustments to staffing and service levels to maintain a balanced budget.

Licensing Revenue Volatility: Updates to the County’s cannabis licensing fee structure improve alignment between fees and regulatory costs; however, revenues remain sensitive to fluctuations in the number of active licensees. While the updated fee structure stabilizes cost recovery on a per-license basis, total revenue declines as the overall licensee number decreases. This creates ongoing uncertainty in revenue projections for FY 2026-27 and beyond, requiring conservative budgeting and operational flexibility to respond to changes in the regulated market.

Technology and Process Improvements: The CLO is evaluating opportunities to use emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, to improve operational efficiency. Potential applications include streamlining inspection processes, enhancing data management, and supporting compliance monitoring. While these tools may improve efficiency over time, implementation considerations, resource requirements, and effectiveness remain under evaluation. Future adoption may help offset workload constraints and improve service delivery.