With alcohol board short-staffed, some councilors cautious about lifting Sunday sales restrictions

Published Oct 12, 2012 at 10:00 am (Updated Oct 12, 2012)

For the approximate 500 drinking establishments in East Baton Rouge Parish, there are not quite three full-time investigators with the Alcoholic Beverage Control and Gaming Enforcement board. That paucity of alcohol police has some city-parish leaders wondering how the ABC Board can do its job on Sundays if bars are allowed to open on a traditionally dry day in East Baton Rouge. Councilman Rodney "Smokie" Bourgeois calls the ABC Board a "skeleton crew." And Councilwoman Tara Wicker fears liquor will pour abundantly all weekend in her community. As the proposed measure now stands, bars could open at 6 a.m. on Sundays; the Metro Council is set to vote on it in two weeks. Parish Attorney Mary Roper, whose office oversees the ABC Board, says the staff of investigators is one person short due to budget cuts that came after the downturn in the economy and a shortage in sales-tax revenue. However, Bourgeois—also a restaurant owner—on Wednesday night made a point of reminding everyone that the ABC Board had as many as five investigators a few years ago. The parish attorney's office says ABC workers used to multitask between investigative and litigation duties, but since 2008 have been given primary roles. "They're not doing anything differently than they were then," says Roper. "And now it's three." That third investigator works 29 hours a week. Whether bars are allowed to open Sundays or not, Roper says her office will request funding for a fourth investigator in the 2013 budget. —Adam Pearson