Metro Drug Coalition asks Knoxville Beer Board to reinvest fines in youth prevention
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Summary
Metro Drug Coalition asked the board Oct. 28 to direct accumulated beer‑board funds toward hiring a youth prevention coordinator and school‑based programming as a pilot; the proposal will appear as an expenditure for the Nov. 11 city council meeting and no final board vote was taken at this session.
Webster Bailey, executive director of Metro Drug Coalition, urged the Knoxville Beer Board on Oct. 28 to use beer‑board fines and application revenues to fund youth alcohol‑prevention programming and to hire an additional full‑time youth prevention coordinator.
Bailey said the proposal—provided in the board’s meeting packet—would reinvest enforcement revenue into prevention work that can be measured by reductions in underage drinking incidents and other data. “Turning enforcement revenue into prevention action is [a] practical, ethical, and sustainable way to serve our community,” Bailey said.
The coalition’s director of prevention, Ellie Peoples, told board members the role would focus on City of Knoxville schools and juvenile‑detention programming, allowing the group to expand from one full‑time coordinator to start a pilot. “Adding an additional full‑time employee would really allow us to bolster these efforts, hit double the number of kids with evidence‑based practices,” Peoples said. She described plans to scale to five coordinators over several years, covering middle schools first and then high schools.
Board members asked about procurement and sustainability. Vice Mayor Smith confirmed no public RFP had been issued; Bailey said the funding request is Metro Drug Coalition’s recommendation and that the coalition plans to pursue local, state and federal grants after a first year. Councilman Roberto described the request as a pilot and asked what metrics would be reported; Peoples said the coalition expects to report counts of youth reached, curriculum used and curriculum‑assessment results (pre/post measures) rather than individual survey data that would invoke active‑consent rules.
Chair Bridal told members the proposal will appear on the Nov. 11 city council agenda as an expenditure and invited members to ask further questions before that date. No formal vote or appropriation occurred at the Oct. 28 beer‑board meeting.
The proposal and related materials were left in the board packet so members could review them in advance of the council agenda review.
