Municipal Liquor Store Operations Report Released
Published on Nov 21, 2017 15:58

Farmington Liquors continues to improve results among Metro Area stores

State of Minnesota Office of the State Auditor - Analysis Municipal Liquor Store Operations Report was released on November 7, 2017. The 2016 Analysis of Municipal Liquor Store Operations Report provides comparative data on municipal liquor operations owned and operated by Minnesota cities.

In 2016, 195 Minnesota cities operated 228 municipal liquor stores, with 99 cities operating both on-sale and off-sale liquor establishments and 96 cities restricting their municipally-owned establishments to off-sale liquor stores. While the majority of municipally-owned liquor stores are located in Greater Minnesota, 19 cities within the Seven-County Metro Area (Metro Area) own and operate liquor establishments.
Minnesota municipalities were originally authorized to own and operate liquor establishments as a means of controlling the sale of alcohol. For many communities in Greater Minnesota, municipal liquor operations provide access and convenience in areas that might be unable to attract a privately-run establishment. In addition to these functions, profitable municipal liquor operations have provided another source of revenue to supplement traditional tax and fee revenues.

The underlying financial data provided in this report is compiled from audited and unaudited financial statements that are required to be filed annually with the Office of the State Auditor. The tables and analysis derived from this data provide a basis of comparison for municipal liquor operations to highlight the current trends and financial condition of these operations. This report provides comparative data to city officials to assist them in the management of their municipal liquor store operations. In addition, it provides information to the public and policymakers, enabling them to evaluate the financial condition of these operations.

The city of Farmington is proud to announce that Farmington Liquors continues to provide a source of revenue for reinvestment. Liquor Store profits have been used to benefit city operations and recent contributions include:

• $90,000 for park trail maintenance projects and $10,000 for park trail signs and park benches.
• $5,000 Installation of a handicap pedestrian ramp in downtown Farmington.
• $45,000 for a city plow/maintenance truck.
• Farmington Liquors sponsored Ramble Jam and two Music in the Park events at Rambling River Park.

The stores hold annual donation drives and due to generous support from Farmington Liquors customers, the store made the following contributions:

• Farmington Liquors held an Animal Donation Drive in April of this year, which was earmarked for Farmington Police Department’s K-9 Unit. This drive raised $7,446 for the unit.
• Farmington Liquors held a Support Our Troops donation drive in July. This drive raised $3,130 for the Yellow Ribbon Network in Farmington.
• Farmington Liquors held the food donation drive in October. The drive raised $5,972 for the local 360 Communities Food Shelf in Farmington.

The report may be downloaded at www.osa.state.mn.us/Reports/gid/2016/liquor/liquor_16_report.pdf
Visit Farmington Liquors at http://bit.ly/2woVelB and on Facebook @FarmingtonMNLiquors.