Bay County’s local governments are about to see a fresh splash of green in their bank accounts, and not the kind you mow on Saturdays. Nearly $1 million in adult-use marijuana excise tax revenue for fiscal year 2025 is headed to the county, with Bay City, Bangor Township and Pinconning Township all getting a slice. Local officials say the money will help pay for infrastructure and basic services without hiking local taxes.
How the money breaks down
State distribution records show Bay County will receive $972,307.80 from Michigan’s 10% adult-use marijuana excise tax. Bay City and Bangor Township are each set to get $432,136.80, while Pinconning Township is in line for $108,034.20, according to data from the Michigan Department of Treasury.
The FY 2025 distribution lists a per-license payment of $54,017.10 and a statewide total of $93,773,685.60. Both figures are lower than last year. In FY 2024, the total distribution was $99,454,551.28 with $58,228.66 per license, according to a separate report from the Michigan Department of Treasury.
Local leaders plan to spend it
Bangor Township officials say a big chunk of their $432,136.80 share is already mentally spent. The plan is to pour much of it into road repaving and water-line work, including long-discussed projects such as repaving State Park Drive. The township supervisor told WNEM the marijuana payments help avoid cuts to basic services while finally moving long-planned infrastructure fixes off the wish list and onto the work schedule.
Bay City, meanwhile, has in recent years used its marijuana-tax revenue to bolster homelessness services and cover day-to-day operations. Local leaders told the station the payments have become a steady, if modest, revenue stream for smaller governments that rarely get surprise money drops.
Why the pot of money shrank
The slightly slimmer checks this year are not a Bay County problem; they are a statewide trend. Michigan’s cannabis market cooled a bit, and that took the excise tax base down with it. MLive’s look at state data found that licensed retailer sales slipped to roughly $3.17 billion in 2025, about $100 million less than in 2024. The state collected roughly $313 million in marijuana-related tax revenue in 2025, according to MLive.
State officials say the combination of slightly slower sales and a growing number of licensees sharing the same pool of excise dollars explains why the per-license distribution slipped this year, according to a Michigan.gov distribution announcement.
New tax, new questions
The outlook could get tighter for everyone in the supply chain. A new 24% wholesale excise tax on marijuana transfers took effect on Jan. 1 as part of Michigan’s road-funding package, and it has already landed in court. The law and the industry’s lawsuit have raised questions about how much pressure retailers’ margins and the state and local tax base can actually take, as reported by Cannabis Business Times and in coverage from Michigan Advance.
Growers and retailers warn that higher wholesale taxes could nudge some buyers back toward the illicit market, which would cut into the very revenue stream local governments are now counting on.
For Bay County and its communities, the latest round of checks is not a cure-all, but it is a welcome budget boost that helps keep roads paved and services steady. Expect those new marijuana-tax figures to come up at upcoming city and township meetings as leaders decide whether to plug the money into one-time projects or ongoing expenses. Residents who want to see how their community compares statewide can dig into the state distribution reports and local coverage linked above.
