Dominoes Could Fall On Alcohol

The Fairfield City Council is about to traverse a slippery slope.

It is considering the lifting of its self-imposed cap on package liquor licenses. There are currently two in the city.

We ran a “Question Of The Day” on our Facebook page from Sunday afternoon through Monday morning and over 200 people voted. Our poll indicated support for the proposal by a large margin. 64-percent of those responding like the idea of expanded package liquor licenses in the city. There seems to be the opinion that folks in Fairfield are paying too much for their booze.

If the city council follows through and increases the number of package liquor stores, look for the convenience stores and possibly the large retail store out west of town to get in line. The current license holders would likely have to cut prices. They would have to consider increased customer service----like say---home delivery----in order to compete.

In any scenario, the city council sets in motion a series of events which affects the local market which could end up being good for the consumer.

Can they, or would they, specify who could apply for the new licenses? Would that be legal? I don’t know. The city attorney and the mayor will have to research and frame the issue using the statutes before a decision could be made.

I’m paying attention to the issue to see if it challenges my longstanding support of a free and open marketplace.