Abolish Liquor Commission?

At tomorrow night's Woodstock (Ill.) City Council meeting the Council will consider an ordinance to abolish the Liquor Commission and place all the powers in the hands of the Mayor.

Is this a good idea?

In the packet prepared for the members of the City Council this week and available to the public last Friday at City Hall and the Woodstock Public Library (but not fully available online) is a letter from Richard Flood, City Attorney, explaining the proposed ordinance.

The letter reads, in part, "The Mayor believes, and staff agrees, that the commission is not necessary and the Mayor, as Liquor Commissioner, is fully capable of conducting all the duties of the commission."

The Council will consider this without a public hearing and without adequate notice to the public.

Look at the entry in the Agenda, which is available online: Item D 4. in the Manager's Report lists on the Agenda this innocuous item: "Liquor Control Commissioner and Liquor Control Commission - Adoption of an Ordinance amending the Woodstock City Code regarding Commissioner and Liquor Commission."

Would you guess from that that the ordinance will abolish the Liquor Commission and place all the powers in the hands of the Mayor?

What happened to the two citizen members of the Liquor Commission? Were their terms allowed to expire without arranging replacements? How hard did the Mayor, the City Council and the staff attempt to find two new members to serve on the Liquor Commission?

City participation is imperative on the Liquor Commission, as long as the members are not "Yes" men. Business owners (liquor sellers) must be treated fairly and respectfully by the City, and citizen input and participation provides a system of checks and balances.

The proper course of action is to widely publicize the idea of disbanding the Commission and moving all the power into the hands of the Mayor. A Public Hearing should be held, and adequate time and notice for consideration should be allowed.

Does the Mayor believe he can conduct all the duties of the Commission? No doubt about that.
Does the staff? They'd better, or they might be deciding where they want to work next.
Does the City Attorney? He gets paid to do what he's told, like write up an Ordinance to abolish the Commission.

The most recent meeting of the Liquor Commission was a Special Meeting on February 9, 2009, according to Minutes posted on the City's website. (Interestingly enough, the Minutes read that the three commissioners voted, under MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING, to approve "...the Minutes of the February 9, 2009, Special Meeting of the Woodstock Liquor Commission as presented."

At that time Shirley Schiller and Ray Durbin were Commissioners, along with Mayor Sager.

Does any read the Minutes? Ever?

The City's website indicates Agendas for March 30, 2009; September 10, 2009; October 19, 2009, December 14, 2009; March 15, 2010; and December 15, 2010. Where are the Minutes for all those meetings???

Is the Liquor Commission necessary? It probably is, but the public should have adequate time to provide input to the City Council before it votes.