ӰԺ

Milwaukee skyline at dusk

Municipal Inventory of Alcohol Policies

To improve your community’s alcohol environment, it’s helpful to understand both what laws are on the books, i.e., what ordinances the community has adopted regarding alcohol policy, and what is actually being done. We recommend using the municipal inventory to help guide you in collecting that information and to build understanding of current policies and practices in your community.

Municipal Inventory & Checklist

After identifying alcohol-related problems in your community, use the Wisconsin Alcohol Policy Project’s (WisAPP) municipal inventory and checklist to determine what resources your community already has in place for preventing excessive alcohol use.

Online Municipal Inventory of Policies & Practices to Reduce Excessive Alcohol Consumption

What It Is

A way to learn what strategies for preventing excessive alcohol consumption your municipality (city, village, or town) has on the books, and what it is in fact doing in practice.

Purpose

  1. Identify existing policies and practices
  2. Identify missing policies and gaps in practices
  3. Reveal existing, but unenforced policies

Products

  1. Create a record of local alcohol licensing and enforcement policies
  2. Collect a copy of each ordinance, policy, guidance, or documentation of practices
  3. Understand how the policies are applied and practiced locally

Process

  1. Review ordinances
  2. Interview the police department (PD) – ask about enforcement and areas with problems
    1. How is the PD involved in licensing decisions?
    2. Does the PD conduct semi‐annual MLDA compliance checks?
    3. Does the PD compile and use Place of Last Drink information?
    4. Are there problem areas where violence is associated with alcohol?
  3. Interview local officials – ask about informal policies or traditions
  4. Determine how much support is there for existing laws – resource allocation and citizen support