Reply to Why is MontCo in the hard alcohol business?

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[quote=Anonymous]This has been a debate for decades.  It is a revenue generator for MoCo, and MoCo doesn't want to lose it.
https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/government/county-liquor-exec-fires-back-over-groups-call-to-exit-alcohol-business/
[quote]
The leader of Montgomery County’s Department of Liquor Control says the department received an unfair evaluation by a pro-business advocacy group that argued the county should end its wholesale and retail liquor monopoly.

Robert Dorfman, who was appointed to the job in late 2016, objects to the use of the label “monopoly.” He said 17 states have total control of liquor businesses.

“People talk about Montgomery County, because it’s the only county in the country with a monopoly,” he said. “One-third of the United States operates like we do.”

A report last week from Empower Montgomery on the overall county business climate suggested  the liquor operation could be run more efficiently if it was in private hands, a position that has been debated for decades.

The department generates about $30 million in net profit each year, according to Dorfman.

Sales revenue, he said, typically totals around $300 million, with most of that money being used for operating expenses and products.

Between fiscal 2007 and 2017, operating expenses rose from $180.2 million to $273.8 million, the Empower Montgomery report noted. In each year, the report noted that the department expenses represented the largest share among all “business-type activities,” or those that generate revenue.[/quote][/quote]

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