Ward 5 Cleveland City Councilman Richard Starr introduced legislation Monday to redirect half of the city's marijuana tax revenue into council members' discretionary neighborhood equity funds, which have paid for park improvements, police fitness equipment, and food and grocery store gift cards for residents.
Cleveland voters supported recreational marijuana legalization in 2023, and Starr argued that tax dollars from those sales should flow back to their communities. "The question before us today is simple. Who benefits?" he said at the council meeting. "This ordinance answers that question clearly: the people, the neighborhoods, every ward in the city."
Since Ohio began collecting the 10 percent dispensary sales tax in 2024, Cleveland has received $919,338 total. The 2025 allocation came to $650,249; split evenly across the city's 15 wards under Starr's proposal, each council member would receive an additional $21,675 in discretionary funds. Council distributed $600,000 per ward last year and added $300,000 per ward in this year's budget deal.
All marijuana revenue currently goes to the city's General Fund for basic services. Mayor Justin Bibb's office said the administration needs more time to review the proposal before taking a position.
Starr faced similar resistance three years ago when he proposed raising council's share of casino tax revenue from 15 percent to 50 percent. The city's finance director warned the change would create a budget gap, while council members complained that City Hall was slow to spend casino dollars directed to ward projects. Spending rules have since been updated.
Starr framed Monday's proposal as shared governance rather than a challenge to the mayor's authority. "Legalization created opportunity," he said. "This ordinance ensures that this opportunity is shared, shared fairly, shared transparently and shared with the residents who made it possible."
Cleveland received the smallest marijuana tax allocation among Ohio's three largest cities. Columbus received $5.5 million and Cincinnati nearly $3 million, both of which host more dispensaries than Cleveland.