Cookeville officials could vote Thursday to amend the municipal code to regulate how beer and alcohol permits are issued within the city.
City Manager James Mills said the proposed changes are intended to bring local ordinances into compliance with Tennessee Code.
“A lot of these events where we allow beer, like at when Cityscape has their Taste of the Town, or other events like that,” Mills said, “They have caterers and they serve beer and alcohol that’s not addressed currently in our code.”
Mills said the city currently lacks the specific language to regulate caterers who are already required to receive permits from the state. City Clerk Darian Coons said that while the state Alcoholic Beverage Commission oversees these licenses, very few local businesses currently hold the necessary credentials.
“Here in town,” Coons said, “There’s only really one caterer that is ABC licensed to serve liquor by the drink.”
The ordinance update also grants the City Clerk new authority to suspend beer permits for businesses that fail to pay their privilege taxes. Coons said that if a caterer is serving beer or liquor without an ABC license, they are in violation of the law.
One official said the city has encountered several problems with entities failing to pay the required privilege tax. Another official said the city also needs the power to suspend beer permits for businesses that fail fire and safety inspections, a tool that is not currently available under the existing code.
Mills said the changes are necessary because the regulatory environment became complicated when the state assumed control over liquor-by-the-drink enforcement. Mills said the new language will tighten local regulations and ensure the city is in step with state definitions.
