6.11.150 Petitions on suspended licenses.
A. Whenever a decision of the authority suspending a license becomes final, whether by failure of the licensee to appeal the decision, stipulation between the authority and the licensee that such decision is final, or by exhaustion of all appeals and judicial review, the licensee may, before the operative date of the suspension, petition the authority for permission to pay a fine in lieu of having the license suspended for all or part of the suspension period. Upon receipt of the petition, the authority may, in its sole discretion, stay the proposed suspension and cause any investigation to be made which it deems desirable and may, in its sole discretion, grant the petition if it is satisfied and in consideration of whether:
1. The public welfare and morals will not be impaired by permitting the licensee to operate during the period set for suspension and that the payment of the fine will achieve the desired disciplinary purpose;
2. The books and records of the licensee are kept in such a manner that the loss of sales or other impacts that the licensee would have suffered had the suspension gone into effect can be determined with reasonable accuracy therefrom; and
3. The licensee has not had its license suspended or revoked by the authority, nor had any suspension stayed by payment of a fine to the authority, during the two (2) years immediately preceding the date of the complaint or request which resulted in a final decision to suspend the license.
B. The fine imposed pursuant to subsection (A) of this section shall not be less than five hundred dollars ($500.00) nor greater than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00), and the authority may consider, among other factors, the licensee’s estimated gross revenues from sales or other impacts during the period of the proposed suspension in determining the amount of the fine.
C. The authority may, in its sole discretion, enter into a stipulation and order with a licensee imposing a fine in lieu of suspension of a license contemporaneous with entering into a stipulation and order with a licensee containing necessary findings, if any.
D. Payment of any fine accepted in lieu of allowing a license suspension to become operable shall be in the form of cash, certified check or cashier’s check. Said funds shall be deposited into the general fund of the Town. Upon receipt of the fine, the authority shall enter an order permanently staying the operation of the suspension.
E. If the authority does not order the suspension permanently stayed, the suspension shall go into effect on the operative date of suspension set by the authority. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the authority may grant such stays of the suspension proceedings as are necessary for it to complete its investigation and review under subsection (A) of this section. (Ord. 782 §2 (Exh. A), 2020)