Alcohol Hearings
Subcommittee
23 August 2019
File:
(19/1118)
Report no:
HSC2019/4/83
Response to Questions
from Members of the Alcohol Hearings Subcommittee Meeting
held on 6 August 2019
1. This report
provides a response to questions from the meeting of the Alcohol Hearings
Subcommittee (the Subcommittee) held on 6 August 2019 and reconvened to 26
August 2019.
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Recommendation
That the report be noted and received.
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Background
2. At the meeting of
the Subcommittee held on 6 August 2019 the Subcommittee resolved the following:
Resolved:
(Deputy Mayor Bassett/Cr Sutton) Minute No. HSC 19401
“That the Alcohol Hearings
Subcommittee:
(i) notes
and receives the report;
(ii) considers
the submissions received concerning the proposed Alcohol Fees Bylaw;
(iii) asks
officers to review the Fees Reduction Policy with a view to assisting
non-profit organisations including sports clubs;
(iv) asks
officers to investigate the feasibility of making all applications and all
supporting documentation available on-line;
(v) that a phase in period of three years be
implemented; and
(vi) that the hearing be adjourned and reconvened at 11am on
Monday 26 August 2019.”
Discussion
3. In response to questions from the Subcommittee, officers
advise the following:
a. A revised Fee Reduction Guide (Guide) is attached as Appendix 1 to
the report. This could be posted on Council’s website, and could also be
included in the information provided in application forms to raise awareness
and encourage uptake. This Guide will provide for a fee reduction for
non-profit organisations applying for a special licence or club licence.
It
is noted that there are no similar fee reductions for non-profit organisations
within the Environmental Consents Division, so this would result in
inconsistency with that current situation.
There
are 39 organisations holding club licences in Lower Hutt. There are no Class 1
Club Licences, 18 Class 2 Club licences and 21 Class 3 Club licences. The 21
Class 3 clubs are already in the lowest fee category; therefore, these clubs
will not be eligible for a fee reduction. To attempt to do so would then make
the fee regime inconsistent with the default fee framework. It is also noted
that by offering this fee reduction, the 60/40 costs recovery model is unlikely
to be met across the business.
The shortfall due to implementing this
policy would be approximately $10,000 per annum.
b. Advertising On/Off and Club Licence applications on Council’s
website is certainly feasible, and is something that a number of
Council’s do, but not all. In some cases this is in place of a public
notice in a newspaper. I would not recommend that option as it would
potentially
disadvantage those people that do not have computer, or internet access.
Some Councils offer the option of
advertising on their website, or alternatively, via publication in the
newspaper. This could create confusion by having two locations for people to
check.
I would also recommend that only the
public notice(s) be advertised on the website, rather than the complete
application, as placing all of the documentation would require that it be
redacted to remove any personal information. In any case, it is very rare for
Council to receive requests to view applications, even when there are
objections.
While some Councils provide the public
notice advertisement on their website for free, others charge up to $150 per
application. The cost to Council for publishing on the website is estimated to
be $50 to $80 per application ($5,400 to $8,640 per annum) and so again, by
implementing this, the 60/40 costs recovery model is unlikely to be met across
the business.
Should Council decide to adopt this
change, I believe the service would need to be provided free of charge if
Council were to continue to require publication in a newspaper (Hutt News). As
noted above, it is recommended to continue with the publication of public
notices in the newspaper.
c. Revised fees table projected over three years.
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Fees to apply Year 1
(Date to be confirmed)
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Fees to apply Year 2
(Date to be confirmed)
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Fees to apply Year 3
(Date to be confirmed)
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Risk category
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Application Fee
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Annual Fee
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Application Fee
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Annual Fee
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Application Fee
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Annual Fee
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Very Low
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478.40
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209.30
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588.80
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257.60
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699.20
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305.90
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Low
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792.35
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508.30
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975.20
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625.60
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1,158.05
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742.90
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Medium
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1,061.45
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822.25
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1,306.40
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1,012.00
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1,551.35
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1,201.75
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High
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1,330.55
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1,345.50
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1,637.60
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1,656.00
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1,944.65
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1,966.50
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Very High
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1,569.75
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1,868.75
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1932.00
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2,300.00
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2,294.25
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2,731.25
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Special Licences
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Fees to apply Year 1
(Date to be confirmed)
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Fees to apply Year 2
(Date to be confirmed)
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Fees to apply Year 3
(Date to be confirmed)
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Class 1
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747.50
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920.00
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1,092.50
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Class 2
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269.10
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331.20
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393.30
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Class 3
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82.20
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101.20
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120.15
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Fees to apply Year 1
(Date to be confirmed)
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Fees to apply Year 2
(Date to be confirmed)
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Fees to apply Year 3
(Date to be confirmed)
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Temporary Authority
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385.70
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474.70
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563.75
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Manager’s
Certificates
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316.25 (no change to fees)
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It was also
discussed at the meeting whether financial incentives could be allowed for
‘good operators’. This is not recommended by officers. The Sale and
Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 contains various enforcement provisions, so the
effect is that ‘poor operators’ are penalised with enforcement
tools such as infringement fines, suspension or cancellation of licences.
In the past 12
months, 13 premises were visited as part of a controlled purchase operation
resulting in two sales of alcohol to minors. These are typically dealt with by
suspension of the licence. Three suspensions within three years will typically
result in cancellation of the licence.
There has been
one infringement fine issued during the past 12 months.
The fact is
that there are very few operators that would be categorised as
‘poor’ using these criteria. It would therefore be detrimental to
the proposed fees bylaw to incentivise ‘good operators’ as the
majority would be considered ‘good operators’. To incentivise them
would effectively defeat the purpose of this proposed alcohol fee bylaw, which
is to recover the costs of alcohol licensing and enforcement activities. It
would also be inconsistent with the regulatory framework across the
Environmental Consents Division.
Appendices
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No.
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Title
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Page
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1⇩
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Revised Fee Reduction Guide for Alcohol Licences
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8
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Author: Dean Bentley
Team Leader Environmental Health
Approved By: Derek Kerite
Acting Divisional Manager, Environmental Consents
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Attachment 1
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Revised Fee Reduction Guide for Alcohol Licences
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FEE REDUCTION GUIDE FOR ALCOHOL LICENCES
References
Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Fees)
Regulations 2013
REQUESTS TO REDUCE FEES BY ONE CATEGORY
When a request for a
reduction in fees is received, and meets the particular circumstances below,
either the Chief Licensing Inspector or a Senior Officer has delegated
authority to decide – this will be dependent on the particular
circumstances of the applicant and activity.
Requests must be made in
writing at the time of application, with the reason for a fee reduction.
Any request outside of the
below particular circumstances can only be decided by the Chief Licensing
Inspector.
Sports Clubs and
philanthropic organisations holding a club licence will automatically have
their fee category reduced to 1 class lower than specified.
Special Licences
The fee payable for any special licence
application may be assigned a fees category that is 1 class lower than
specified in Clause 10 (1) of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Fees) Regulations
2013.
The reduction is available only if:
§ the
application is for a Class 1 or Class 2 special licence;
AND
§ the
event or series of events is a community or fundraising activity that will
benefit the community or recognised charities;
AND
§ the
special licence holder is not a commercial entity that will make any commercial
gain from the event;
AND
§ no
infringement notice has been issued for related events in the last year.
The lower fee will be paid
upon application – if the request for a lower fee is declined, the
applicant must pay the remainder before the licence will be issued.
For all premises requesting
a lower fee, please ask the cashiers to place the fee in the holding account
1HE Licence.
CLUB Licences
The fee payable for all Club licence
applications may be assigned a fees category that is 1 class lower than
specified in Clause 10 (1) of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Fees) Regulations
2013.
The reduction is available only if:
§ the
application is for a Class 1 or Class 2 club licence;
AND
§ the
club is a non for profit organisation;
AND
§ no
infringement notice or enforcement holding has been issued to the club in the
previous licensing period.
