04-22-2026 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL APRIL 22, 2026 CONSIDER FEE INCREASE FOR 2026 ON -SALE LIQUOR LICENSES The City Clerk provided background information on the annual two percent fee increase, noting that this will be the third year that the increase has been implemented. Notices were sent to all on -sale liquor license holders, and no calls or questions were received. Mayor Fischer opened the public hearing for comments from the general public. There were no comments from the public. Upon motion by Miller, seconded by Malone, the public hearing was closed. Ayes (3). Nays (0). Motion adopted. Miller acknowledged the process that established the annual increase and commented that it has been working well. Mayor Fischer reopened the public hearing. Tom Cossack, owner of Gordies Bar, asked why there is a meeting for the liquor license and whether there is an increase for all the other licenses. He commented that a liquor license is no different than any other business license. He stated that last May, he paid $5,758 for his liquor license and wrote another check in October for $1,125. He noted that he is also required to pay the sales tax on everything that is sold. He stated that he pays a lot of money for a license, and the business is not what it once was. He noted that he has been here for 51 years, and 30 years ago, it was a big deal to have a liquor license in Little Canada, but it is not the same now. He stated that if they are going to raise the liquor license, they should raise all licenses. The City Clerk stated that they used to raise the liquor license by the levy limit, then put that on hold, and then changed it to two percent because the levy had gotten too high. She noted that many businesses are not licensed. Mr. Cossack commented that the liquor business is not as lucrative as it used to be and asked that the City take a break on increasing the fee, or even reducing the increase to one percent. Malone asked about the precedent for a liquor license fee in a city and whether it is related to the potential increase in assistance from law enforcement. The City Clerk confirmed that law enforcement costs is the main driver. Mr. Cossack commented that they do have very few issues that require law enforcement, although he acknowledged that other businesses may require more assistance. There were no additional comments from the public. Upon motion by Miller, seconded by Malone, the public hearing was closed. Ayes (3). Nays (0). Motion adopted. Mayor Fischer commented that he and the City Administrator recently had a discussion about revisiting the process. He believed that the two percent annual increase is fair compared to the cost increase for emergency services and public safety. He recalled that in the past, the liquor license increase was tied to the levy, and then a pause on the increase occurred for a few years around COVID. He stated that the fixed percentage allows businesses to budget for the increase rather than having a larger increase after a few years. 2