The Prescott City Council on Nov. 24 approved procedures to issue two outstanding Class B liquor licenses and adopted a short-term rental registration process for 2026.

City staff described Resolution 62-25 as setting an application, scoring criteria and evaluation guidelines for two Class B licenses. Staff said one license is a legacy regular Class B (issued before Dec. 1, 1997) that carries a $500 fee, while the other is a reserve Class B created by population growth and subject to a statutory minimum fee of $10,000. The resolution calls for a Class 1 newspaper notice, an application deadline of Jan. 30, 2026, and a special Health & Safety Committee meeting in February to score and recommend applicants before council action. "We are required by state statute to charge a minimum of $10,000 for that license," staff said.

On short-term rentals, staff proposed a no-fee permit under city code 63546 to catalog rentals (stays under 30 days), help enforce room-tax remittances and provide contact information for complaints. The proposed registration requires operators to submit server and operator training documentation, a business plan for new businesses and maintain a guest sign-in log so staff can track occupancy and compliance. Council members asked about enforcement and who would perform on-site checks; staff said the permit is primarily a tracking and enforcement tool, and that further enforcement would follow existing code processes.

Both the liquor-license procedures and the short-term rental permitting procedure passed after motions and seconds. The council directed staff to publish the liquor-license notice and move forward with the application timeline; no vote tallies beyond the recorded approval were provided in the meeting transcript.