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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFY 2023 (Department of Liquor Control)DEPARTMENT OF LIQUOR CONTROL FY 2023 BUDGET AND OPERATIONS SYNOPSIS Leo Sandoval Director Department: LIQUOR Fund: LIQUOR FUND 1. FY 2022 to FY 2023 BUDGET COMPARSION FY 2022 FY 2023 $ + / - % + / - Salary and Wages 463,995 537,821 73,826 15.9% Benefits 334,397 395,113 60,716 18.2% Utilities 6,480 6,480 0 0.0% Vehicle/Equip, Lease 1 8,000 7,999 799900.0% Operations 217,934 319,492 101,558 46.6% 1,022,807 1,266,906 244,099 23.9% FY 2022 Operating Budget FY 2023 Operating Budget ■ Salary and ■ Salary and Wages Wages 0% 1% ■ Benefits % � ■ Benefits 1Y 445% 1% 42% Utilities Utilities 1% 33% ■ Vehicle/Equip, ■ Vehicle/Equip, Lease Lease Operations Operations FY 2022 and FY 2023 Comparison 600,000 500,000 400,000 300,000 0 FY 2022 9 FY 2023 200,000 - 100,000 0 Salary and Benefits Utilities Vehicle/Equip, Operations Wages Lease 2. MAJOR CHANGES AND/OR VARIANCES IN OPERATIONS BUDGET During the current budget the Department has been significantly understaffed. The private secretary position was dollar funded and a Supervisor Investigator had been vacant over 6 months. This staffing shortage resulted in a decrease of salaries and wages. Even with these major changes spending has been controlled with a notable decrease in travel and training for all staff and Commissioners. During the pandemic, the Department was forced to seek out innovative options to continue to operate while placing the safety of the staff and public while maintaining efficiency without funding. The Department has also continued to facilitate the Liquor Commission meeting virtually and by organizing the agenda for each meeting with the Department. 3. OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES With a lack of administrative and clerical staffing, the workload has continued to multiply exhausting the two staff members which are covering a workload of four staff. The Department has sought our solutions which would streamline the licensing process of the Department though an online portal which would allow new and existing applicants to service their existing or new application online vs in -person or by mail. The set up of this new program has been an operational challenge with research, testing and ultimately launching the program. In the interim, the Department will need to continue to operate processing one application at a time which is at thistime done by one staff member. Enforcement Branch effort have been challenging as well due to the responsibility of maintaining the safety of each Investigator during the pandemic and minimizing any COVID exposures. Attendance has been significantly affected with Investigators being at higher risk during the pandemic. Training and equipment purchases have been reduced or placed on hold for the past year due to a reduction in training budget. The Regulatory Branch of the Department has been present with the assistance of the existing staff however this division is best suited to be taken on by a licensing auditor if approved. The currentstaff is stretched out and unable to fully dedicate the hours needed at this time to fulfill all the aspects of licensee compliance. In FY2022 the Department provided a solution to the licensees that were impacted with a decrease in gross sales by temporarily decreasing the annual percentage fee to one of the lowest percentages in the Department history. This was accomplished by reducing spending of the non- personnel budget and cost savings of delaying the hiring of a new Director. The actions resulted in one of the largest Department budget carry-over amounts. Entering FY2023, the gross sales as reported to the Department are now rebounding with the reopening of all licensed locations to sellalcohol at 100% capacity. 4. TOP 3 OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS FROM FY 2022 -The Department has been progressively transitioning to a paperless department. Currently digitizing all archives and entering all new applications, including any documentation into the Power DMS program. 2 -The Department has taken part in updating the Rules and Regulations of the Liquor Commission which include updates to current rules and the addition of new rules because of the evolving alcohol industry and newly identified violations. - Despite the pandemic and all variants, the Department oversaw the sale and distribution of liquor sales in 2021 more than 80 million dollars, when projections were believed to be approximately 70 million.