05052009 Regular Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Extended Bar Hours FAQ 1. Can the mixed beverage tax be raised from the current rate? The State stipulates the mixed beverage tax of 14% of gross alcohol sales. By law, all mixed beverage and private club permit holders remit to the State Comptroller a :IA`X% gross receipts tax on their mixed beverage sales each month. Following the end of each calendar quarter, 10.7143% of the tax paid is allocated to the county where each business is located. For any business located within an incorporated city, another 10.7143`'/0 of the tax paid is allocated to the city where it is located. The remaining tax is distributed to the State's General Revenue Fund. Those quarterly allocation payments to the cities and counties are summarized in the Mixed Beverage Tax Allocation Histories. The payments are listed according to the month in which they were distributed and totaled for each calendar year. Mixed Beverage Tax allocation amounts are dependent upon the timing and accuracy of taxpayers' returns and payments, but generally represent taxes remitted to the Comptroller's office during the calendar quarter immediately preceding the month the allocation is distributed. Are sales taxes collected for on premise beer sales? Sales taxes are collected on site for beer and wine sales. The standard 8.25% sales tax is collected on beer and wine sales. The City receives 1.5%. 3. If bar hours are extended, can the city council revert the hours back to the midnight closing time in the future? Yes 4. Will extending bar hours to 2 a.m. have potential impacts on Central Texas Medical Center emergency room? Busier times in the ER are from 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. when a lot of the folks in town without insurance come for non-emergent care. CTMC ran some reports and did some forecasting--looked at cases that had a diagnosis or co-diagnosis of alcohol poisoning. Not all "drunk and disorderly" individuals that show up in the ER would be reflected in these numbers - only if a trauma was sustained as a result. Numbers are fairly low in this category and when the model was run with extended hours, it doesn't seem to make appreciable difference. Staff was also asked for any anecdotal input and no one feels it will be a major issue. 5. Are there potential impacts to EMS if bar closing was changed to 2 a.m.? Per "tom Partin, only impact might be in the time night calls are received. They anticipate receiving calls from incidents following closing no matter what that time is. Could see more local calls in the City and fewer along the Interstate from people driving back to San Marcos. Really would not expect the number of calls to have a significant impact upon their service. 6. Are there potential impacts to the Students with Alternative Transportation (SWAT) program?