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TO: Mayor Richard C. Irvin
FROM: Jennifer Stallings, City Clerk
DATE: December 23, 2022
SUBJECT:
To establish a yearly fee for Liquor License Endorsements and Maximum Violation Fees for Licensees, Related to Chapter 6, "Alcoholic Liquor" of the Code of Ordinances.
PURPOSE:
To assess an appropriate fee for the optional Liquor License Endorsements available to liquor licensees as well as maximum fees that may be assessed when a violation of the liquor code is committed.
BACKGROUND:
On April 14, 2020, revisions were made to Chapter 6, "Alcoholic Liquor", including the addition of endorsements available to licensees. An endorsement is an option available as an "add on" to a current liquor license that adds to the licensee's ability to sell or serve alcohol (i.e., strolling, catering, BYOB, package sales). The endorsement option was enacted during the COVID pandemic and no additional fees were initially assessed for endorsements.
The maximum fee for a violation of the liquor code has been set at $2,000.00 since a fee range was added to the fee schedule in 2018. A maximum violation fee should be set high enough to serve as a deterrent and should be high enough to be punitive, when necessary.
DISCUSSION:
Now that fee-free endorsements have been available for two renewal cycles, we have determined an appropriate fee based on several factors. First, research looking for similar endorsement fees used by other municipalities showed that the endorsement concept is not frequently used, with one other area municipality utilizing a somewhat similar (although not identical) endorsement model, the City of Park Ridge. Park Ridge's endorsement fees range from $250.00 to $1,500.00 with those endorsements most similar to Aurora's costing $250.00. Second, staff time is expended in the application processing, review and issuance of endorsements and now that we have issued several endorsements, we have a general idea of the time involved in this process. Third, ...
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