In an effort to reduce alcohol-related crime, a Madison city council member wants to limit the sale of cheap alcohol.
On Tuesday, Ald. Michael Schumacher, District 18, proposed a ban throughout Madison on the sale of less than a pint of liquor or fortified wine and less than a six-pack of beer.
Schumacher said the city has too much panhandling and the ban would make it harder for alcoholics to accumulate enough money to purchase alcohol or pressure others into buying it for them.
""This will slow down their potential drinking, or it's going to make it more difficult,"" Schumacher said.
He acknowledged that someone who wants liquor badly enough will save money to buy a six-pack but said that in establishments that already have these conditions in place, the amount of litter and panhandling has been reduced.
Katherine Plominski, Madison's Alcohol Policy Coordinator, said restrictions on alcohol sales in other communities have been effective.
""Specifically, reductions were seen in detox admissions, emergency medical services and police service calls,"" Plominski said.
The city banned cheap liquor sales last summer in Districts 4 and 8, affecting 11 retail license holders. The ban stopped the sale of single cans of beer, but Schumacher said distributors started packing two cans together. The new proposal would ban anything less than a six-pack and would affect all 123 of the retail license holders in Madison.
Schumacher hopes to reduce panhandling and other alcohol-related incidents but said his proposal is not a complete solution.
""Out of the whole toolkit available, this is really one small tool,"" Schumacher said. ""What we're trying to do is minimize some of the behavior that comes out of this excessive drinking of these cheap liquors.""
Plominski agreed that the proposal was an important step toward a larger goal.
""The restrictions are just one aspect of an entire community-wide effort to deal with chronic public inebriation,"" Plominski said.
If passed, Schumacher said the proposal would go into effect in May or June.
