Joe Jarosz
Northeast News
May 1, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Missouri — After months of debate, the Kansas City City Council have come to an agreement on city issues employee liquor cards.

At the most recent meeting the city council voted 10-2, approving the new ordinance. The two dissenting votes came from council members Scott Taylor and Cokethea Hill. Mayor Sly James was not present for the meeting.

The new ordinance modifies liquor card requirements for employees. Workers who no longer need to carry a card include delivery drivers and stockers at grocery stores. The modification also exempts employees at hotel banquet halls who serve liquor and eliminates the temporary permits once required for volunteers at non-profit events. Background checks were not conducted on the volunteers and council members thought the card unnecessary.

The other major change comes in the form of the background checks. For months, the cards and background checks were the subjects of intense debate at council and committee meetings. Councilman John Sharp worked with colleague Scott Wagner to get the right changes for the ordinance. The liquor card requirement remains for bartenders, waiters and others who deal with customers. However, businesses now have the opportunity to issue their own background checks. Sharp noted there are three requirements for the checks: they have to be as extensive as the city’s, they have to be approved by Regulated Industries and sent to Regulated Industries after completion.

“The fee will also be reduced to reflect the savings to the city,” Sharp said.

During inspections, in the past, if an employee did not have their card on them at their place of employment, it was possible they would be sent home. Now, the manager or owner can show the inspectee their copy of the employee’s card. Also, by the end of the year, employees will be able to renew their cards online.

The ordinance also reduces the number of years some ex-felons must wait before they can apply for a liquor card.