Title
Receive and accept the 2020-2022 Cannabis Program Strategic Plan prepared by Management Partners, Inc. for the Cannabis Program including collaborative County departments and outside agencies.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
a. Receive and accept the 2020-2022 Cannabis Program Strategic Plan prepared by Management Partners, Inc. for the Cannabis Program including collaborative County departments and outside agencies; and
b. Provide direction to staff as appropriate
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
In April 2018, the Cannabis Program (Program) entered into an agreement with Management Partners, Inc. to develop and facilitate a workshop for the purpose of creating a Strategic Plan (Plan) and Implementation Action Plan. The Plan served as a roadmap to guide the Program as it continued to develop and enhance internal and external collaboration. Many changes have occurred in the interim period, which required updates to the Strategic Plan in order to adapt along with the industry and its governing bodies. The Program entered in a new agreement with Management Partners, Inc. to update the Strategic Plan and related documents. Interviews with internal and external stakeholders were conducted through phone conferences. Instead of an in-person workshop, Management Partners, Inc. hosted a Zoom workshop. The workshop consisted of 29 participants from the collaborative cannabis county departments and local fire agency staff.
Attached is the 2020-2022 Strategic Plan. (Attachment A). The following reflect prioritized strategies within each goal:
• Goal A: Support the lawful cannabis industry’s efforts to generate economic development within Monterey County
o Continue to modify existing Monterey County Code to support cannabis activities and protect public health
o Support industry organizations which foster productive and successful businesses
• Goal B: Protect public safety, health and the environment as the cannabis industry grows within Monterey County
o Continue to enhance the coordinated enforcement strategy of the unlicensed cannabis market which is supported with adequate resources
o Continue to improve procedures to ensure that cannabis businesses are compliant with all state and local requirements, including land use, environmental and safety regulations
• Goal C: Ensure a well-coordinated, responsibly managed and self-funded Cannabis Program with effective and equitable compliance and enforcement
o Proactively work with cannabis businesses to achieve compliance with State and County regulations
o Continue to conduct regular compliance inspections to ensure County requirements for cannabis businesses are being met
• Goal D: Generate revenue to support the program and provide services to the public
o Continue to improve and enhance the analysis and validation of cannabis tax revenue and fully integrate the CA Cannabis Authority (CCA) data and reports in compliance inspections and general reports including cannabis assignment summaries
Attached is the 2020-2022 Implementation Action Plan. (Attachment B) The following reflect the major accomplishments and priorities for the next two years
• Agricultural Commissioner
o For the first time ever, cannabis was featured as a supplement in the 2019 edition the Monterey County Crop Report
o Will continue to ensure that pesticide regulations are being upheld for the protection of human health and the environment and weights and measures requirements are met
• Cannabis Program
o The Program, with support from Public Health and the Legislative Program, has identified and applied for two strategic grant opportunities: Cannabis Equity Grants Program for Local Jurisdictions through the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) and the Proposition 64 Public Health & Safety Grant Program through the Board of State and Community Corrections and will keep apprised of other grant opportunities
§ The Program was awarded $150,000 from GO-Biz in April 2020 for the funding of a Cannabis Equity Assessment and Program Development
o Multi-department/agency cannabis compliance inspections began in April 2019 and have seen continuous improvements to streamline the process for industry operators
§ An internal SharePoint site was created to share up-to-date information with collaborating departments related to permits, canopy size, code enforcement cases, stop work orders, and stipulated agreements
§ A customer service survey for the inspection process is planned for development
o The Cannabis Program will continue to adjust workflow to improve the consistency, efficiency, and oversight of the Cannabis Business Permit review and issuance process
o Program Staff will become increasingly familiar with data in the California Cannabis Track and Trace System and California Cannabis Authority (CCA) platforms to train cannabis compliance inspectors to reconcile what is found on site with what is documented in METRC
o The Cannabis Program website is currently being renovated to increase accessibility for more information related to local and state permits/licenses, fees, and any other requirements
o Hold biannual industry stakeholder session to engage in more comprehensive discussion than is possible in the Cannabis Standing Committee, which may validate existing policy or provide rationale for amendments
o Continue to keep the Board of Supervisors apprised of Cannabis Program allocations, expenditures, and balance through the Cannabis Assignment Summaries
• Public Health
o Public Health provides the following to the public
§ Educates 10th grade classrooms throughout the County about drugged driving
§ Educates parents on cannabis and how to talk to their children about cannabis
§ Educates via social media about cannabis use and its consequences in partnership with Social Changery
§ Educates pregnant and lactating women about the consequences of cannabis use
o Further outreach would be enabled if the Prop 64 Grant is awarded to Monterey County
• Resource Management Agency
o Gain policy direction from the Board of Supervisors to adopt amendments to Titles 20 & 21 based on input from industry stakeholders
• Sheriff’s Office
o The Sheriff’s Office will continue to work together with the District Attorney’s Office, CDFA Enforcement, Department of Fish & Wildlife, and the State Water Board to address the unregulated market within Monterey County
§ Unlicensed enforcement activities during Calendar Years 2019 and 2020 will be presented by the Sheriff’s Office
Attached is the Authorized Positions and Responsibilities (Attachment C) and below is a breakdown of resource utilization for Fiscal Year 2019-20 through pay period ending 7/3/2020.
• Because positions were allocated for the entirety of FY 19-20, available hours were prorated to the start date of staff persons that were hired after 7/1/2019
o This will provide a clearer view of utilization of actual resources vs allocated resources
• Departments marked with an asterisk represent those with unfilled positions or those with the duties of allocated positions shared amongst existing staff
• Cannabis Allocated Positions Utilization
o Agricultural Commissioner Office*
§ 2.5 unfilled positions
§ 44% utilized
§ Average monthly utilization pre-COVID was 217 hours (or 50%) before declining to 143 hours (or 34%)
o Auditor Controller*
§ The Program was unaware that the previously allocated 0.50 Analyst I position was deleted from the Fiscal Year 2019-20 Adopted Budget; the FTE count has been removed to reflect this update
§ Approximately 14% of the $64,710 allocation was applied to existing staff time
o County Administrative Office - Finance*
§ 1 unfilled position
§ 0% utilized
o County Administrative Office - Cannabis Program
§ 5 filled positions
§ 99% utilized
o Office of the County Counsel
§ 1 filled position
§ 25% utilized
o District Attorney’s Office*
§ 3.5 filled positions
§ 88% utilized
o Health Department - Environmental Health Bureau
§ 3 filled positions
§ 83% utilized
§ Average monthly utilization pre-COVID was 446 hours (or 85%) before declining to 415 hours (or 83%)
o Health Department - Public Health Bureau*
§ 0.50 unfilled position
§ 0% utilized
o Resource Management Agency
§ 3 filled positions
• 1 position was recently vacated
§ 67% utilized
§ Average monthly utilization pre-COVID was 303 hours (or 72%) before declining to 301 hours (or 60%)
o Sheriff’s Office
§ 2 filled positions
§ 87% utilized
o Treasurer-Tax Collector Office
§ 1.98 filled positions
§ 90% utilized
§ Because cannabis taxes for Q3 of FY 19-20 were deferred, staff utilization for collection efforts is not reflected and would likely have elevated utilization to 100% or greater
FINANCING:
Monterey County’s Cannabis Program is funded in County Administrative Office - Department 1050, Intergovernmental and Legislative Affairs Division - Unit 8054, Cannabis. The approval of this report and related documents will not incur additional expenses to the Program.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS STRATEGIC INITIATIVES:
The Monterey County Cannabis Program addresses each of the Strategic Initiative Policy Areas that promote the growth of a responsible and legal Monterey County cannabis industry.
Related Board of Supervisors Strategic Initiatives include:
X Economic Development
X Administration
X Health & Human Services
X Infrastructure
X Public Safety
Prepared by: Joann Iwamoto, Cannabis Program Manager
Approved by: Nicholas E. Chiulos, Assistant CAO
Attachments:
Attachment A: Cannabis Program Strategic Plan
Attachment B: Implementation Action Plan
Attachment C: Approved Positions and Responsibilities