Fiscal Note
The proposed ordinance change allows the Madison Police Department to issue citations to liquor establishments that exceed their capacity limits. Under the current policy these issues are resolved by a complaint process that is referred to the City Attorney. Revenue generated through the citations will be deposited to the General Fund.
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Amending Section 1.08(3)(a) of the Madison General Ordinances to establish bail amounts for violations of exceeding lawful occupancy capacity.
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DRAFTER'S ANALYSIS: Capacity violations have traditionally been prosecuted by the City Attorney’s office via a long form complaint after referral by the Madison Police Department. It would be beneficial to the police department to have the ability to issue a citation for a capacity violation at the time of the offense, and this would also have a greater impact in terms of controlling future capacity violations. Issuing a citation on scene will more likely deter future such conduct on a more immediate basis. If a licensee has a citation in hand for a capacity violation one weekend, they are likely to be more diligent about monitoring their capacity the following weekend. The police department will still have the ability to refer cases to the City Attorney for a long form complaint if they so choose. Adding this offense to Chapter 1.08 will not affect referral to the Alcohol License Review Committee for point assessment.
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The Common Council of the City of Madison do hereby ordain as follows:
Please see "Body" in Attachments.