Ordinance amending BMC regarding alcohol fines

A proposed ordinance to amend the Bethel Municipal Code to add a new subsection adopting Title 4 of Alaska Statutes regarding alcoholic beverages is on the Bethel City Council agenda this week for introduction.

The proposed ordinance states, “In order for the City of Bethel to issue citations and retain the fines associated with those citations, the Bethel Municipal Code (BMC) must clearly include those offenses as a municipal offense.”

Proposed Ordinance 22-37 continues, “BMC 5.08, Alcoholic Beverages, creates municipal laws related to alcohol but does not clearly incorporate the alcohol laws from Alaska Statutes Title 4 into the municipal code, thereby arguably limiting the fines the municipality may collect.”

“Following the clear adoption by reference of Alaska Statutes Title 4, the City may collect fines for violations of the BMC and Alaska Statutes Title 4,” says proposed Ord. 22-37. And, “Upon citation under this section, court appearance is mandatory.”

Public hearing for the item is set for the November 8th, 2022 regular council meeting. Following adoption by the Bethel City Council, the ordinance will become codified into the BMC and become effective immediately.

The item is sponsored by City Manager Peter Williams.