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Smithville staff to propose ordinance aligning city liquor-license names, fees with state
Summary
City staff told the Board of Aldermen they will bring an ordinance to rename several local liquor licenses to match state and county terminology and to adjust the short-term caterer permit fee schedule to the state model; no change to substantive license requirements was proposed.
Smithville staff told the Board of Aldermen on a work‑session that they will bring an ordinance at the next regular meeting to align the city’s liquor‑license names and the short‑term caterer fee schedule with state and county terminology and practice.
City staff said the change is intended to make the permitting process simpler for event planners and for city staff, and would not change regulatory requirements attached to the licenses. “We’re not talking about changing requirements or what the license does or anything like that. It’s literally just a change to the name of the types of licenses so that they’re congruent with state and county licensing,” the staff member said.
The staff presentation described a table comparing current Smithville license names with state equivalents and noted discussions with the state liquor supervisor in Kansas City and the county counterpart, who the staff member said have expressed support and offered to answer technical questions at a future meeting. The staff member also said the city would mirror the state’s daily catering permit structure and align the local fee schedule accordingly.
Board members pressed for fee detail comparisons with neighboring jurisdictions. One alderman asked whether the proposed city fee would mirror the state’s $10 per day rate or use the city’s permitted 1.5‑times cap. The staff member replied they would propose a city schedule that mirrors the state amount and that Missouri law limits what cities may charge; “there is a state statute that caps what the cities can charge for a liquor license. We can charge 1 and a half times what the state charges,” the staff member said.
No ordinance was adopted at the work session. Staff said they will draft the ordinance and a proposed fee schedule and return to the board at a future meeting for formal consideration.
The discussion was limited to terminology and fee alignment; speakers explicitly said the proposal would not change license conditions or enforcement.
Board direction and next steps: staff will draft an ordinance to (1) rename city license categories to match state/county terminology, (2) change the short‑term caterer permit to the state’s per‑day model and propose a corresponding fee schedule that follows the state cap and city multiplier, and (3) provide comparative fee data from nearby cities on request prior to the ordinance reading.
