AMCO Help
WELCOME
Letter from the Chairman
PAUL THOMAS | CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD
AMCO Help
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The time has come for us to request more support for the Alcohol Beverage Control Office . While the licensing staff is now back up to full staffing , there is still a vacancy for the admin and investigation staff . However , even with those positions filled , licensees are all too often left unsupported . AMCO staff have been working hard , and progress is being made to shorten the queues , mainly for transfers . But the times are still too long , and with the number of renewals , endorsements , and other administrative actions in the queues , staff members continue to work excessively long hours and do not have time to work on any of the other important work they do .
When asked about the status of a regulation project at the last meeting , a comment was made that both licensing catch-up and regulation couldn ’ t be worked on simultaneously ; it was one or the other . This is very concerning as it leaves the board , licensees , and the public in an untenable situation where the board has to consider how best to issue new licenses and make decisions before the required regulation is completed on the license type or issuing licenses based on old inaccurate data .
An example that came up last Alcohol Beverage Control Board meeting involved a BOARD REPL license that had returned to the pool of licenses in Juneau and was on the agenda to be issued to a new licensee ( Juneau has previously been allocated 22 REPL licenses under the 1 in 1500 population rule ). The question was asked , why has that license not gone away ? The 2024 population would only allow for 21 licenses , as Juneau ’ s population is falling . It turns out that ABC was still using numbers from 2022 and hadn ’ t been able to update the data and its publications on the website during the last cycle . In the end , after quite a bit of discussion , it turns out that the correct numbers
IF YOU KNOW OF SOMEONE WHO MIGHT BE A FIT FOR THIS SEAT , PLEASE GET IN TOUCH WITH THE CHARR OFFICE AND LET US KNOW , OR MENTION IT TO YOUR LOCAL CHARR
MEMBER . that should have been published as working numbers would have been the 2023 numbers , which left the number of allowed REPL at 22 for Juneau by a very small margin . But this could have just as easily gone the other way or have been missed altogether if it were not for a member of the public .
Yet another concerning example of the need for help was when asked to modify the agenda to allow easier access for the public to testify on non-agenda Items . This would be accomplished by moving the public testimony to the beginning of the meeting , as is frequently done on other boards . The Chair was hesitant , implying there wasn ’ t time for the public to cover the other agenda topics within the allotted time . Some of the discussions after that raised the possibility of a second meeting day similar to what the Marijuana side does , to which Board Members Hill and Moore graciously stepped up and said they would be willing to have a second meeting day if needed .
One immediate way we can help is to put forth potential candidates for the vacant board seat . This seat has been empty for quite a while . Currently , only four of the five seats are filled , which leaves the board in a dangerous situation of possibly being unable to hold a meeting if they cannot achieve a quorum . The current vacant seat is a Public Safety seat defined as :
“ public safety sector ” means a current or former peace officer , a current or former municipal or state prosecutor , a former judicial officer , or a current member of a profession that primarily has the authority to provide for the welfare and protection of the general public through the enforcement of municipal , state , or federal laws ;
If you know of someone who might be a fit for this seat , please get in touch with the CHARR office and let us know , or mention it to your local CHARR board member so they can pass it on for consideration .
ALASKA CHARR MAGAZINE | 2