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Bandera staff find $31,809 in alcohol-permit overcharges; council reviews parade-fee and hotel-tax guidance
Summary
City staff discovered they billed businesses using the wrong alcohol-permit fee chart and identified $31,809 in required reimbursements; council also discussed parade fees and was advised that hotel-occupancy tax cannot directly pay parade permit costs without a council resolution finding a public purpose.
City of Bandera staff told the council they discovered an error in the alcohol-beverage permit fee chart used for billing and that the city has been overcharging some businesses for up to four years.
Finance staff said they compiled a four-year audit and calculated that the city owes $31,809 in refunds or adjustments to affected businesses. "This brings us down to $31,809," staff said when presenting the spreadsheet of who was overcharged and what reimbursements will be necessary. Auditors recommended expensing the refunds from council contingency while the city issues letters to affected businesses and processes reimbursements.
On the fee schedule generally, staff circulated a revised schedule after meeting with local trades and the Chamber. Council raised specific items including contractor-registration fees, penalties for work without permits, and the parade permit fee (which has moved from no fee to $100 to $400 in recent years).
City counsel advised that hotel-occupancy-tax revenue generally cannot be used to subsidize parade expenses. "You can't you can't do that with hotel occupancy tax," counsel said, but noted the council may adopt a resolution finding a public purpose for sponsoring or waiving fees for a specific event at the time it approves that event.
Staff proposed following auditors' guidance to reimburse businesses for the overcharges and recommended using council contingency funds this fiscal year to clear the liability. Staff also described plans to send letters and seek compliance or steps to recover unpaid amounts through licensing processes if necessary.
Next steps: staff will notify affected businesses, process refunds or credits per auditor recommendation, and bring any required ordinance or resolution language back to council when an event-specific parade request is before the body.
