Municipalities are still “totally in the dark” about how cannabis retailers will be chosen in their communities, Humboldt Mayor Rob Muench says.

“We’re still up in the air and unsure of how that is going to take place.”

Municipalities had gone into this week’s Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association convention hoping to learn more about the province’s plans. Humboldt is slated to have one opening for a cannabis retailer.

There was also no new information on age limits, or whether municipalities will receive any cannabis revenue, Muench said.

“It sounds like the province wants it to be revenue neutral - no money coming in or going out - which leaves municipalities in a bind. They don't know if they have extra costs for policing, don’t know how they’ll be compensated for that.”

Provincial funding is also an area of concern. Municipalities currently receive cash equal to one point of the PST but the dollar figure is to be capped, Muench said.

“As the economy improved and as the PST generates more income, we would generally get more money from the province. But it sounds like that cap is going to be on the amount of dollars that are currently being given out, so with the PST being applied to a lot more different items across the board, we won’t be seeing any of that money by the sounds of it.”

Humboldt has passed a budget with an average two per cent property tax increase and any change to provincial revenues could affect that number, Muench said.

Muench also noted a SUMA resolution calling for the province to give RCMP the authority to close impassable roads.

Only the highways ministry currently has that power, but some municipalities feel that RCMP are on the ground and able to judge when a road needs to be closed, Muench said.