County bumps up beer & wine fees

It’s going to cost more to be able to sell beer and wine in Grady County beginning Jan. 1, 2012.
Grady County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to increase the fees charged for beer and wine licenses on the recommendation of County Administrator Rusty Moye.
County Clerk Carrie Kines surveyed Georgia counties to establish an average license fee, but none of the responding counties were neighboring counties, which was a concern to Commissioner Al Ball.
“I’m not saying it can’t be justified. I just see it as an extreme increase,” Ball said.
Although Ball was not opposed to increasing the fee, he was hesitant to do so without knowing what Thomas, Decatur or Mitchell counties are charging.
Moye’s recommendation was to increase the one-time application fee from $50 to $100 and increase the annual package fee from $300 to $750. According to Kines’ survey, the average annual package fee is $897.11.
The county administrator recommended holding the fee for the pouring license to $1,000.
“These fees should have been raised 10 years ago. We are so far behind on our fees compared to other places. This is a fee that is more applicable to what today’s sales are,” Moye said.
The new fees go into effect Jan. 1, 2012.