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Home My WebLink About950980.tiffOFFICE OF COUNTY ATTORNEI PHONE (303) 356-4000 EXT. 439- P.O. BOX 194, GREELEY, COLORADO 8063: COLORADO Tammy Nitchke Colorado State Auditors Office 200 E. 14th Avenue Denver, CO 80203 FACSIMILE: (303) 866-2060 April 27, 1995 RE: Response to Division of Liquor Enforcement Audit Questionnaire Dear Tammy: The following is Weld County's response to your questionnaire regarding the Division of Liquor Enforcement. It is my understanding that you will use these answers in your audit of that State Department. We will answer the questions in the order in which they were presented via your fax Memo dated April 20, 1995. 1. Question: What do you do? Answer: I am the Weld County Attorney. My office represents the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, which is the Liquor Licensing Authority for the jurisdiction of Weld County, Colorado. Assisting me in answering these questions is Carol Harding from the Weld County Clerk to the Board's Office. Question: Who is your local Licensing Authority? Do the members have any background requirements? Any other criteria (e.g. experience in the liquor industry)? Answer: The Local Licensing Authority in Weld County, Colorado is the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County. All of the members of the Board are elected. As with other Board of County Commissioners, the members have a variety of different backgrounds, but we believe that none of them have any interest or connection to any liquor licensed establishments. 950980 Tammy Nitchke April 26, 1995 Page 2. 3. Question: Can you explain the licensing process for both an initial license and a renewal license? Answer: The licensing process for an initial license is as follows: A. The individual applies for the license using a form supplied by the State Division of Liquor Enforcement. The forms include a standard application, individual history record, and finger prints. B. The neighborhood for the proposed liquor license establishment is set by the Board of County Commissioners at one of its regularly scheduled meetings. One of the commissioners is designated as the individual who goes to the site to make an inspection to determine if all of the requirements of the State Liquor Code are met. C. A Board representative visits the site on the tenth day prior to the public hearing in order to inspect the premises and to determine if posting has been properly accomplished. D. A public hearing is held at which time the Board hears testimony relative to the license request. The Board then makes a decision whether to grant or deny the request. Regarding renewal requests, the Board follows the following procedure: E. Enclosed is a copy of the Board's Resolutions regarding the 45 day time requirement for applications for renewals. If an application is received within the 45 day time period, the Board will first need to determine if the factors have been met such that the 45 day time requirement may be waived. F. The Board will hold a hearing at which time it will hear testimony relative to the renewal. If the Board hears evidence that gives it probable cause to believe that one of four factors listed in Weld County Ordinance 102-A have been met, the Board will schedule a Show Cause Hearing. The Show Cause Hearing is a time at which the Board will determine if there are sufficient factors to warrant denying the renewal request. If there is not probable cause that one of the four factors exists, the Board will renew the license. A copy of Ordinance 102-A is enclosed. 950980 Tammy Nitchke April 26, 1995 Page 3. 4. Question: How are the needs and desires of the community done? Answer: The needs and desires of the community are determined by listening to any testimony given by neighbors from the area and also by determining the number of liquor license establishments in the area. 5. Question: Who does the inspections (i.e. for new applications)? Answer: A member of the Board of County Commissioners does the inspection for applications for new licenses. 6. Question: Who does the hearings? Answer: The Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, as the Local Licensing Authority, is the entity which hears all of the evidence and makes the decisions relative to the granting or denying of liquor license applications. 7. Question: What additional fees or taxes are charged to liquor licensees (e.g. occupational liquor tax)? Answer: In Weld County, no additional fees or taxes are charged to liquor licensees. Weld County does, however, have a licensing charge of $25.00 for dance halls, which usually involves tavern licensees. 8. Question: What is your work load? Answer: On average, Weld County receives at most one or two new liquor license or 3.2 beer license requests per year. We currently have 25 active beer and liquor licenses. 9. Question: What applicants get refused the liquor license? Answer: Applicants who are not of good character, or who are requesting liquor licensed establishments in areas where the neighbors are opposed, are refused a liquor license. 950980 Tammy Nitchke April 26, 1995 Page 4. 10. Question: How could local licensing and enforcement be improved? Answer: In Weld County, we do a good job on our local licensing and enforcement. Our licensing and enforcement includes cooperation between the Clerk to the Board's Office, the Planning and Zoning Department, the Weld County Sheriffs Office, and the Greeley/Weld County Records Department. We can see, however, problems which may arise in the future if the volume of requests for licenses increases. At that time, it may be necessary for the Board of County Commissioners to appoint a separate Local Licensing Authority and hire an individual to perform inspections of licensed premisees solely for the purpose of performing the licensing and enforcement function. 11. Question: How do you handle complaints? Are they forwarded to the local police of the Liquor Enforcement Division (or both)? Answer: The Board of County Commissioners of Weld County handles complaints regarding liquor and/or beer establishments by referring those complaints to the Weld County Sheriffs Office. The Board also has in the past referred some complaints to the Liquor Enforcement Division. 12. Question: Do you track complaint information on your licensees? Answer: Yes. Complaint information will be included in the files kept by the Board of County Commissioners at the Clerk to the Board's Office. More importantly, Weld County tracks "incident" information which is generated by Local Law Enforcement Authorities with respect to the addresses where the licensed establishments are located. This information is included in packets given to the Board of County Commissioner members when licensing decisions are before them. 13. Question: How does the State Liquor Enforcement Division fit in the licensing process? Answer: It is our opinion that the State Liquor Enforcement Division fits in the licensing process mainly by answering questions which we have regarding various licenses and the circumstances surrounding those licenses. The State Liquor Enforcement Division also reviews the licenses after they have been approved by the Board of County Commissions. 950950 Tammy Nitchke April 26, 1995 Page 5. 14. Question: What value do you think the Liquor Enforcement Division adds to the local licensing process? Answer: We call the Liquor Enforcement Division as least once per week to obtain information and interpretation of the statutes, rules, and regulations regarding liquor and beer licensing. We find the State Liquor Enforcement Division personnel to be extremely helpful. The State Division provides an element of continuity between jurisdictions relative to liquor and beer licensing. 15. Question: What is your interaction with the State Division? What areas have they helped you in? Answer: Generally see answer to question 14 above. The areas the State Division helps us in is mainly in determining how to handle cases relative to what procedures must be followed. 16. Question: What areas do you think the State Liquor Enforcement Division can improve in? Answer: The main area we believe the State Liquor Enforcement Division can improve in is notification of local jurisdictions of state liquor license violations. See our answer to question 22 below. 17. Question: Has the State Division ever turned down a license you have already approved? Why? Answer: No. 18. Question: Does the State Division return license applications before revision before they can approve? What types of revisions are needed? Answer: Yes. The State Division has returned various applications which the Board of County Commissioners has approved and sent to Denver for processing. In such situations, it is usually where the County has failed to provide some necessary information which should have been included in the packet. 19. Question: What if the Local Licensing Authorities were totally responsible for retail licensing? If you had access to financial interest information, would this be possible? 950980 Tammy Nitchke April 26, 1995 Page 6. Answer: I do not believe that Weld County's procedures would change dramatically if it was totally responsible for retail licensing in Weld County. It would definitely be possible if the Board had access to financial interest information (which is supposed to be disclosed on the applicants applications form). 20. Question: What if the State Liquor Division were totally responsible for retail licenses but local authorities were still involved in the needs and desires of the community? Would this system work? Answer: I do not believe it is wise to have the State Liquor Division totally responsible for retail licenses. There is some need for local input, especially if the neighbors around a proposed liquor licensed establishment are opposed. That opposition may not be adequately heard by the State, because the State employees or officers are not locally connected to the residents who are complaining. 21. Question: Who is your local liquor enforcer? Who do you suggest we speak to? Answer: Dave Sauter. 22. Question: If local enforcement or state enforcement finds a problem with one of your licensed establishments, are you made aware of the problem? Answer: Not always. Usually Weld County is informed only when there has been some settlement or other disposition of the case enforced upon by the State Liquor Division. The State maintains a list of licenses in Weld County where the State has enforced upon in the last one year period. We get a copy of this list only at our request. It seems that this list should be made available to us without having to ask. 23. Question: Do you track enforcement actions against your licensees? How? Answer: All documentation regarding enforcement actions against Weld County's licensees is included in their respective files. Again, Weld County has not always been informed by the State of actions taken against licensees. 24. Question: Do you look at this information when renewing the licenses? What is the process? 95O980 Tammy Nitchke April 26, 1995 Page 7. Answer: Yes. The Board of County Commissioners considers any and all information, including documentation regarding enforcement actions against the licensees, when the licenses are being renewed. 25. Question: If you were the czar of liquor enforcement, what would you do to improve the liquor enforcement/licensing system in Colorado? Answer: The only improvement we might make to the Liquor Enforcement/Licensing System in Colorado, is to recodify the Beer and Liquor Codes such that they are readable and understandable by those individuals who must comply with them. It seems that both Codes have been added to several times, with the additions being placed in the Codes out of order in relationship to other sections. Certain sections need to provide better explanation as to what it is the Liquor Licensing Authority is to do. An example is § 12-47-106, C.R.S., which governs renewals. That section only requires some sort of hearing before the license is not renewed, but the hearing is not adequately describe for the local authority to know what must be included in the hearing process. The enclosed Resolutions and Ordinance 102-A are the extent of Weld County's written manuals or policies and procedures for the licensing processing. Weld County does not have any sort of procedure for complaint tracking, except for including any complaints within the files for the respective liquor licensed establishments. If you should have any questions regarding any of the above, please feel free to call me at (970) 356-4000, extension 4390. B//f� r'uco�T"Bar er Weld Count Attorriey BTB/db:liquor Enclosures pc: Dale Hall Clerk to the Board 950980 Hello