On Tuesday, June 29, the County Board of Supervisors approved a budget for the Fiscal Year 2021-2021, which started July 1. As part of the approved budget, Supervisor Anderson, who represents cities and communities in San Diego\u2019s East County, garnered support from his Board colleagues to allocate additional funds towards shutting down illegal cannabis dispensaries, or \u201cpot shops\u201d.<\/p>\n
Anderson\u2019s plan includes spending $2.8 million in the next two years to add resources to the Sheriff\u2019s Department and the District Attorney to enforce the law and prosecute these illegal pot shops. This is in addition to the $500,000 Anderson helped secure at an earlier board meeting. With these allocated funds, four new deputies, one sergeant, and one crime analyst positions will be funded.<\/p>\n
Up to now, closed illegal shops would quickly re-open in new locations. \u201cUnfortunately, it\u2019s been like a \u2018whack a mole\u2019 game,\u201d said Anderson, who noted that many of these illegal pot shops are near schools or churches and are run by gangs and organized crime. Anderson hopes that, with this newly approved budget, law enforcement will have the resources they need to crack down on these illegal pot shops.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to praise my colleagues in understanding that before considering licensing any new legal pot shops, we must ensure illegal shops are shut down for good,\u201d said Anderson. Later this summer, Anderson plans to bring forward an ordinance that would implement stricter guidelines for enforcement.<\/p>\n
Also included in the County\u2019s $7.23 billion budget are funds to address issues such as homelessness, economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and more. Anderson shared, \u201cFor unincorporated residents, the County is their only government. I represent the largest number of unincorporated residents, who live or die by what the Board says or does.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anderson added, \u201cI am thankful to the Chief Administrative Officer, Helen N. Robbins-Meyer, and my Board of Supervisors colleagues for supporting a budget that ensures the people in my district are well-represented.\u201d<\/p>\n
Photo via Behind The Badge OC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On Tuesday, June 29, the County Board of Supervisors approved a budget for the Fiscal Year 2021-2021, which started July 1. As part of the approved budget, Supervisor Anderson, who represents cities and communities in San Diego\u2019s East County, garnered support from his Board colleagues to allocate additional funds towards shutting down illegal cannabis dispensaries,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6606,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\n