The City Council approved a moratorium prohibiting medical cannabis collective gardens in Pullman and reviewed plans for the Pullman School District Levy Election at Tuesday's meeting.

City Attorney Laura McAloon presented information on the moratorium for council members to consider before voting on the resolution.

“The moratorium would prevent any establishment of a collective garden for the cultivation of medical cannabis within city limits for an initial period of six months,” McAloon said. “The moratorium will provide time for city staff to research and evaluate local zoning and licensing regulation of such laws, and the impact of federal law on the recently enacted state law.”

Research confirmed that the moratorium can be adopted by resolution of the council and would be effective immediately upon adoption, she said. There would be no need to determine whether an emergency exists.

Council member Bill Waldrop presented a counter argument to the resolution, allowing federal law to restrict all marijuana.

“We are a nation of laws,” Waldrop said. “(Medical marijuana) is currently preempted by federal statue; I think it is ill-advised to regulate something that is illegal. I feel the best thing to do is to let federal law prevail and for us to remain out of the subject entirely.”

The moratorium would prevent individuals from forming collective gardens, McAloon said. The resolution would give the council time to discuss future regulation and policy as study continues.

Council member Bill Paul said instituting a city law would create layers of regulation issues.

“It’s illegal in any way, shape or form,” Paul said. “I can see we have a federal law, we have a state law and then if we pass a city law, we will have three layers of legal problems.”

After deliberation, resolution No. R-60-11 declaring a moratorium was approved by majority vote and a public hearing set for Oct. 18.

In further discussion, Paul Sturm, superintendent of the Pullman School District, presented on the upcoming levy election setting the budget to take place in February.

“Our expenditure budget for the coming year is about $20,790,000 and is roughly the same as it has been," Sturm said. “The revenue budget, which is $20,129,333, is down. Over the last three years we have seen a reduction.”

Enrollment trends illustrate that from as far back as 1997 and 1998, there was a steady population of about 2,100 students, he said. During the last three years, the enrollment trend has increased significantly.

As counts come in with the new school year, the district shows an increase of about 100 students from last year, Sturm said.

“We tend to budget conservatively,” he said. “We did not plan for that many students; however, we had almost that many students last year and were staffed for them. We are adding a few staff as we go along, but we are in pretty good shape with our staff.”

The increase in enrollment can be seen across the entire district, he said. This is a change from previous years where higher enrollment was seen primarily in the elementary level.

“The current levy expires at the end of 2012, and that is the end of a four-year levy,” he said. “We were nervous over the last couple of years because things really changed. What really helped us was the increased enrollment.”

The added enrollment brought in a little more revenue and increased expenditure, he said.

“For the 2013-2014 levy, we are going to ask for a two-year levy instead of a four-year levy because of the level of uncertainty that is out there,” he said.

Percentages continue to rise and revues decrease, Sturm said. It is projected that by the end of the year, 23 percent of the budget will be levy dollars.

“It has become more important to us in terms of sustaining our programs and maintaining staffing,” he said. “Costs are going up but revenue is going down.”

The maintenance and operations levy renewal is asking voters to approve a two-year levy at a rate of $3.05 per 1,000 assessed property value for 2013 and $3.23 per 1,000 assessed property value for 2014, Sturm said. A technology levy asks voters to approve a six-year levy at rates similar to those approved in the past 12 years for the continued funding of technology maintenance and upgrades.  

Council members commented in support of the levy.

“What goes unseen a lot is the leadership (Sturm) provide(s) as well as his predecessors and the school board as well,” council member Nathan Weller said. “It has created a passion for learning for me. I think it's important that we recognize your leadership as well.”

Council member Keith Bloom said he believes the Pullman education system is one of the best in the nation.

“The commitment by the teachers across the board is second to none,” Bloom said. “I will support this levy, ask my neighbors to support this levy. It is extremely important that we take care of the buildings that our kids are going to school in so that their educational experience is not compromised.”

The City Council is set to convene again on Sept. 20 in Pullman City Hall.