Springfield's cannabis shops bring in roughly $1.5 million a year in local tax revenue, and now city councilors are asking whether some of that money should go toward easing property tax bills for elderly and disabled homeowners. The idea surfaced during a council debate over how the city's cannabis tax dollars have been collected, stashed away, and in some cases, left untouched for years.
Councilor Victor Davila proposed directing a portion of cannabis revenue into Mayor Domenic J. Sarno's targeted tax relief program, according to MassLive.com. Springfield charges a 3% local tax on cannabis sales, with roughly $1 million of that deposited annually into the city's general fund, while about $609,000 landed in a separate enterprise fund during fiscal 2026 alone, per the same report.
A Fund That's Sat Mostly Untouched
That enterprise fund carries restrictions: the money must be spent in neighborhoods within a 1.5-mile radius of the city's cannabis stores, and it's designed to pay for recreation, education, neighborhood business incentives, and infrastructure improvements, among other purposes. The outlet's report notes the fund has gone largely unspent for several years. Councilor Zaida Govan, who chairs the Special Committee on Fiscal Accountability and Budget Review, said the funds had long been inaccessible and that it was time to examine how the money could benefit taxpayers and reduce tax bills.
Govan said many neighborhoods could stand to benefit from the fund and floated sending residents a letter explaining the targeted tax relief fund's existence. Real estate tax bills already include information about the program, but as the article notes, residents who pay their property taxes through mortgage escrow accounts often never see those bills directly, which could explain why so few taxpayers have contributed voluntary donations to help less-fortunate neighbors.
How the Relief Program Came Together
The City Council adopted the targeted tax relief program in 2025, with Sarno and the council petitioning the state legislature to set aside $1 million in free cash to seed the fund. Chief Administrative and Financial Officer Cathy Buono said program parameters, including how much money is available each year and how it gets deposited, would still need to be determined.
The program is designed to help lower-income elderly and disabled residents whose earnings or savings sit just above the limits for other existing relief programs. Western Mass News reported that the city seeded the fund with a one-time $1 million transfer from free cash, supplemented by voluntary donations from residents and businesses. To qualify, applicants must be at least 65 years old and have owned and lived in their Springfield home for at least two years, in addition to meeting income and asset limits, according to the station.
State Senator Adam Gómez's office has said the underlying legislation, House Bill 3213, would let Springfield make that one-time $1 million payment from certified free cash under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 60, Section 3D, a statute that allows municipalities to establish an aid-to-the-elderly-and-disabled taxation fund for residents who don't qualify for existing state exemptions. According to the senator's office, the bill had passed both the Massachusetts House and Senate and was awaiting action by the governor.
Why the Cannabis Money Comes With Strings Attached
Springfield's cannabis tax history hasn't been entirely smooth. Cannabis businesses previously sued the city over an original 6% local sales surcharge, and the state ultimately deemed that surcharge was not allowed, leading Springfield to cut the tax to its current 3% rate. The city later withdrew $1.4 million from the enterprise fund to repay two businesses, according to MassLive's reporting, and the fund has carried a balance that has fluctuated since.
Any shift toward using the enterprise fund for citywide tax relief would require the council to change the cannabis ordinance, since targeted tax relief isn't currently listed as an eligible use for the money. Ward 5 Councilor Lavar Click-Bruce, whose district includes a Boston Road dispensary that has drawn complaints over traffic and parking since it opened in November 2024, said he supports providing tax relief to residents citywide but wants neighborhoods affected by cannabis businesses to benefit from the revenue too. He said some areas feel the impact of these businesses more than others and that he anticipated resident concerns about traffic continuing.
Those concerns aren't new. The Reminder reported last December that the EMBR dispensary at 461 Boston Road was working with Click-Bruce, the city's Planning Department, and other officials to address traffic problems on nearby side streets, including worries about children walking to Thomas M. Balliet Elementary School. The dispensary owns an adjacent parking lot but can't expand customer parking there because it sits within 500 feet of the school, the outlet reported.
The Bigger Picture Across Massachusetts
Springfield's debate plays out against a much larger statewide cannabis economy. Massachusetts had collected $1.58 billion in state cannabis revenue and local governments had collected $300 million from adult-use marijuana sales through August 2025, according to the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. Statewide retail sales had topped $8 billion by that point, with more than 400 adult-use marijuana retail locations open across the commonwealth.
Under state rules, a host community may impose a local cannabis sales tax of up to 3% on adult-use retail sales, with that revenue flowing directly into the municipality's local budget for discretionary spending, according to the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission. Springfield currently has six cannabis stores and a new location planned for Boston Road, adding another layer to the debate over how nearby neighborhoods should be compensated for hosting the industry.
