WI: Demerit point system proposed to track alcohol license holders’ performance
By Sari Lesk
December 26, 2017
RACINE — People licensed to sell alcohol in Racine could become subject to a demerit point system that monitors compliance with local rules and state laws.
The system was first proposed by City Attorney Scott Letteney in July and revisited this month by Racine’s Committee of the Whole. The proposal was met with mixed reaction by committee members.
Point system tracks performance
The proposal calls for a point system that could identify license holders who are “habitually troublesome” for the city — meaning those that repeatedly violate state laws or city ordinances. A suggested point system would guide city officials in determining whether to consider suspending or revoking a license.
Demerit points would track license holders’ performance, the proposal states. A licensed premise could face a complaint and discipline procedure if it accumulates 100 demerit points in a 24-month period. That discipline could be a suspension between 10 and 90 days, or revocation of the license.
Offenses are assigned proposed point values based on severity. An underage person on the premises would be worth 15 demerit points, and serving an intoxicated person would net 20 points. Some offenses are proposed to be worth 100 points on their own, such as violating restaurant sanitation requirements, failing to abate code violations and making a false statement on the application for the license.
“(We) see this as a way of tightening up the process, frankly, taking away the possibility of discretion,” Letteney told the committee Wednesday.
Demerit points would be counted after a conviction is documented for an offense listed in the recommended point system.
Separate board acts as jury
The proposal would also shift the responsibility of recommending discipline from a city committee to a board designed to ensure due process.
Under the current system, the members of the Public Safety and Licensing Committee decide whether a license holder should be subject to a due process hearing. The same information used to decide whether to hold the hearing could be presented as evidence at the hearing, during which those same committee members act as a jury.
Creating an independent jury, Letteney said in July, could protect the city from allegations that the people who recommend whether to take away a license had made up their minds before hearing the evidence.
The proposal outlines procedures for the due process board to follow, which require the board to produce a report and recommendation about the license at hand within five business days of the hearing. The report would describe the board’s findings based on evidence presented at the hearing. The City Council would vote on the recommendation.
Mixed reaction by officials
The Committee of Whole this week deferred taking action on the recommendations.
Alderman Jeff Coe, who represents the 1st District and chairs the Public Safety and Licensing Committee, said he thinks it would be a good idea to move the jury function to another body but didn’t see a need for the point system.
“I haven’t seen any issue that we haven’t been able to handle,” he said.
Melissa Lemke, the 15th District alderman, said she supports the proposal because it “creates transparency (and) consistency and ensures due process.”
Third District Alderman John Tate II said he supports creating standards but wants to ensure the standards reflect input from stakeholders, such as the Racine City Tavern League.
Letteney addressed a series of arguments against the point system provided by the League, such as that good operators wouldn’t call the police when they need to for fear of accumulating points. Letteney said police would not be in charge of assessing points, but police already have the power to cite bars for violations. The point system would not change that, he said.
The League also said the authority to regulate licenses should be in the hands of elected officials so people can change the authority through an election.
“This is an issue of due process, not which elected official likes us better than another,” Letteney told the aldermen. “I understand you have political considerations. It’s our duty to protect the City of Racine. If there is some argument that this particular alderperson or the mayor or somebody likes or doesn’t like this particular establishment, we’re in trouble.”
John Dunk, the president of the League, told The Journal Times his organization does not yet have a strong stance on the proposal and wants to watch the process play out.
Council President Dennis Wiser, the 10th District alderman, said he will try to schedule a follow-up meeting on the issue as soon as possible.