Carol Stream ups liquor license fees

Liquor store and restaurant owners in Carol Stream haven't yet felt the pinch of the village's efforts to close its projected budget deficit.

That's about to change.

Village officials sent the owners a sobering message this week when they increased liquor license fees - essentially across the board - for the first time since 1977.

The new fees take effect May 1.

"Everything stays status quo when everything is going good," village President Frank Saverino said. "But when it's bad, you start to look where you can increase the fees."

The fees will increase by at least 50 percent in 10 of the 12 license categories. The move is aimed at reducing what was once a $2.69 million gap in the village's proposed $21 million budget.

After taking several other steps, including boosting the village sales tax, that gap has been reduced to about $600,000.

Saverino said the increase updates long-neglected fees that already should have been at higher levels.

"But you wait that long and it looks like a big increase," he said.

Under the new ordinance, owners of the most common Class C license would have to pay $2,750 a year. That is an increase of 83 percent from the current $1,500, which covers liquor stores and other stores that sell packaged liquor. Class A licenses, which cover restaurants and bars, would increase to $3,000 from $2,000.

Manhattan's Bar & Grill owner Sindy Rogers, whose business owns a Class A license, said the timing of the increase couldn't be worse.

"Business has never been harder than in the last two years," said Rogers, who has owned the establishment for about 10 years. "They should raise it when we're back on our feet, not in the middle of a recession."

While Rogers said she understands the village has to make up for going 33 years without an increase, she doesn't see why it had to be done in one year rather than in incremental jumps over the next five years.

"Small businesses need all the help they can get," she said. "The amount of the raise is ridiculous."

Longtime Carol Stream resident and Trustee Rick Gieser said the increases are long overdue. He said development revenue kept the village going for years and allowed officials to leave many fees untouched.

That revenue stream dried up as the village developed as far as it could. As a result, several fees will be updated, including building permit fees.

"This is just trying to get the village's business in order," he said. "Every business has to be updated."