Thursday, March 28, 2013
 
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City hears suggestion for tobacco licensing

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[March 28, 2013]  At the Tuesday evening meeting of the Lincoln City Council, police Chief Ken Greenslate said he would like to ask for a straw vote and guidance as to whether the council would be interested in pursuing a tobacco license program for the city.

Greenslate said currently the state of Illinois imposes a license on tobacco retailers. The current fee the state charges is $250.

Greenslate said the city has ordinances in place for violators in regard to underage purchasing as well as selling to underage individuals.

He said officer Tim Butterfield has done a great deal of research on what is being done in other communities. He said the license would bring in revenue but would also place restrictions on where cigarettes can be sold in the city.

Bruce Carmitchel asked if cigarettes were now being sold where they shouldn't be.

Greenslate said no, not currently. He noted there used to be problems with cigarettes being sold from machines with no supervision, where minors could go in and buy. He also noted the license program would allow for guidelines on where cigarettes may be displayed, and he said there were people who were buying cigarettes and reselling them without paying the appropriate taxes.

Greenslate said he felt a $250 license was reasonable. He said there would be time involved in collecting the fees and doing the paperwork, and time involved in the police department doing on-site inspections, so the fee figure was justified.

Jonie Tibbs asked for clarification, wanting to know what the reasoning was behind the city doing this.

Greenslate said it was to add control of tobacco sales on a local level. He said last year the city had a grant to cover the cost of inspections and enforcement, but the city shouldn't count on that grant, as it could go away. He said the license and fee would add revenue for the city and would give the city more control on who can sell tobacco and where it can be sold.

David Wilmert said he didn't know that he wanted to see any more fees. He noted that Greenslate had said there are currently no violators or problems.

Jeff Hoinacki countered, though, saying that adding a license was just another tool in the tool box for the city.

Marty Neitzel asked how many tobacco retailers were in the city of Lincoln. Greenslate said there were 15, a surprisingly small number, he said.

 


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David Armbrust said he hears and understands that the police department needs more officers. He said he wasn't sure he understood now wanting to add more work to the officers the city has.

Greenslate repeated that the city has had this inspection process in the past, funded by grants. He said the city had used a minor child, sending the person to retailers to buy cigarettes. He said in the last year, there had been only one violation. He credited Butterfield for working with this program.

Finally, he added that part of the reasoning behind this was to help assure a healthier community. He noted that no one could tell adults what to do, but it is important to try to protect children from those who might influence them.

Carmitchel said that his "knee-jerk" reaction to the proposal was negative, but he would listen to what the chief had in mind and give it due consideration.

Tibbs said she felt that this was just another stress on struggling businesses.

Greenslate, however, said thousands and thousands of packs of cigarettes are sold in the city, and he felt the $250 figure was small comparatively. He also noted that the cost of the license would be passed on to the consumer; retailers will just raise the price of a pack.

Melody Anderson told the council that they needed to remember that Lincoln is a tax-capped community. She said: "I haven't given this enough thought to say in favor or not in favor, but from the standpoint of fees, fines, those types of things, we are a tax-capped community. Our costs continue to go up every year, not just from a contractual union perspective, but all across the board. We can't take in enough taxes alone to continue at the rate we are going. I think we have to be open (to) some of these considerations. I'm saying that in general, not necessarily that I'm in favor or against this one. We need to pick and choose the ones we feel are going to be as fair as we can be. We're going to have to start considering it."

O'Donohue said he agreed with Anderson; it had to be considered.

Kathy Horn commented that no retailer is being forced to sell tobacco. "They can buy the license if they want to sell it," she said. "If they don't buy the license, they can stop selling cigarettes."

Greenslate and Butterfield will continue their work on this and have something for the council to consider at a later date.

[By NILA SMITH]

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