Alcohol fee brewing in City Hall
By: Joshua Sabatini
Examiner Staff Writer
June 9, 2009
 |
| Drink up: Figures haven’t been finalized, but Supervisor John Avalos says 5-cents extra for a bottle of beer is possible. (Examiner file photo) |
SAN FRANCISCO — A pint of beer and bottle of wine or spirits could soon become more expensive under a proposal to generate revenue amid The City’s economic crisis.
Supervisor John Avalos said he will ask the city attorney today to draft legislation that would impose a fee on alcohol.
The fee would offset city costs related to the consumption of alcohol in San Francisco.
“I think we can afford to do it. It makes for good public policy,” Avalos said.
He’s exploring assessing the fee at the point of wholesale. It would then be passed on to the consumer.
Avalos did not commit to an amount, but offered a possibility of 5 cents for a beer, a larger fee on a bottle of wine and an even more for hard liquor.
Bruce Livingston, executive director of the Marin Institute, an alcohol-industry watchdog, said booze takes a large toll, tens of millions of dollars, on The City’s resources. Emergency-room visits, fire department responses, traffic enforcement and the adjudication of alcohol-related crimes are just some of the expenses.
“It’s an untapped source of revenue existing for the programs that the alcohol industry should contribute to,” said Livingston, who has been in talks with Avalos about the fee.
Avalos estimated the fee could generate between $16 million and $25 million next fiscal year, “to start.”
The legislation comes after Mayor Gavin Newsom submitted a balanced city budget to the Board of Supervisors for review and
adoption, closing a $438 million deficit. The spending plan includes cuts to health and human services.
Avalos’ proposal is similar to other fees pending before the Board of Supervisors.
Newsom has included in his proposed budget a 33-cent fee for a pack of cigarettes, which he introduced to the Board of Supervisors on June 2.
The City spends more than $44 million annually to pick up litter throughout San Francisco, and $10.7 million of that is for discarded cigarettes, according to the Mayor’s Office. The 33-cent fee is expected to raise $11 million annually to pay for cleanup.
Newsom had also proposed a fee in 2007 on large stores that sell drinks with high-fructose corn syrup and is expected to introduce the fee in the coming weeks for the board’s consideration.
While a tax must go to the ballot box, a fee only requires approval by the Board of Supervisors.
Proposals to generate revenue
Several fees coming out of City Hall have been introduced to help offset costs incurred from health care and picking up litter in San Francisco:
Fee type Annual revenue Author Status
Cigarettes $11 million Newsom Pending
Soda N/A Newsom Being studied
Alcohol $16M to $25M Avalos Drafting
jsabatini@sfexaminer.com
