Editor’s note: This story has been edited to correct some inaccuracies in the original version.
The City Council Monday voted to increase the cost of liquor licenses in the city, over the objections of one of the city’s tavern owners.
John Cernovich, who owns Cerno’s and The Dog House, pointed out that the annual fee for his liquor license increases from $1,391.50 to $1,768 under the new ordinance.
Cernovich said he checked with other cities of comparable size to Kewanee, and only Dixon’s license fees are as high as Kewanee’s new fees.
Mayor Gary Moore said the city has not raised the fees for liquor licenses since 2012, and that city officials checked with other communities too.
“In the comparables that we used, we’re pretty much right in the middle of the road, even with the increase,” Moore said.
Cernovich said he and his brother happened to be looking over the agenda for Monday’s council meeting and spotted the proposed fee increases.
“Why weren’t all the tavern owners notified of this?” he asked.
Cernovich also took issue with the city’s $250 fee for licenses to sell liquor at special events.
He said such events are often fundraisers for charities, and having to pay that much for a license reduces the amount raised for the charity.
Moore said those “special use” licenses are for events held on city property like streets and parking lots.
Council members agreed that $250 is a “significant amount of money,” especially for a charity event, and suggested that the council could revisit the special-event fee in the future.
The ordinance also establishes an annual fee of $25 a year for video gaming terminals, and limits the total number of the terminals in the city to 150.
Moore pointed out that a new state law allows cities to charge annual fees of up to $250 per gaming terminal.
