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- Geneva officials vote to keep allowing liquor licenses for elected officials
Geneva officials vote to keep allowing liquor licenses for elected officials
City Council voted to uphold its policy allowing elected officials to hold liquor licenses, while adding state language requiring them to recuse themselves from any alcohol-related decisions.
Sam Kraft
April 23, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes
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Geneva City Council voted Monday to continue allowing elected officials to hold liquor licenses, while adopting language from a state statute that requires them to recuse themselves from any liquor-related votes or decisions.
The vote followed a lengthy and sometimes complicated debate about potential conflicts of interest, enforcement limits and public perception.
One official in support of reinstating a ban on council members holding liquor licenses aimed to avoid even the appearance of impropriety, while others countered that concerns could be adequately addressed by aligning city code with state language, which reads:
An alderperson or member of a city council may have a direct interest in the manufacture, sale or distribution of alcoholic liquor as long as he or she is not a law-enforcing public official or a mayor. To prevent any conflict of interest, the elected official with the direct interest in the manufacture, sale or distribution of alcoholic liquor shall not participate in any meetings, hearings or decisions on matters impacting the manufacturer sale or distribution of alcoholic liquor.
One council member questioned why someone deemed fit to receive a liquor license would then be considered unfit to serve in office.
“If we trust a person enough to issue a liquor license, why would we not trust them to serve on the City Council?” he said.
The updated ordinance preserves the current policy and formally adds the state’s language. City officials acknowledged that enforcement would rely in part on self-governance, with fellow council members expected to raise concerns if necessary.
Watch the City Council discussion (35-minute mark to 1 hour, 30-minute mark).
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