Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission cuts hours at Heber City, Salt Lake liquor stores

State liquor regulators decided Tuesday to reduce the hours of operation for two stores as a cost-saving measure.

Beginning late next month, both the Heber City store and the new Salt Lake City wine store located at 280 W. Harris Ave. will be open only from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. Currently, both are open from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. But a proposal to also cut the hours at the Park City liquor store on Swede Alley was put on hold because officials in the ski resort community wanted to maintain the extended hours to serve tourists.

The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission approved the new hours for the two stores after hearing the 2010 Legislature sliced more than $650,000 from the department's budget, including $500,000 in payroll.

More cuts will be recommended before the new budget year begins July 1, the department's deputy director of operations, John Freeman, told the board.

"The plan is not to do furloughs or lay off any career service employees at this point," Freeman said. "That's our plan, but we're really crunching some numbers. That's a pretty tough road."

He said that for every $1 the state trims from the department's budget, taxpayers lose $5 because profits go to pay for the state's school lunch program and into the general fund.

Commission Chairman Sam Granato, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, noted the irony of making budget cuts in an agency that generates revenue.

"We make a lot of money through this agency," Granato said. "We have handcuffs put on us."

The department has already had to cut $565,000 in the current budget year, mostly from the "Parents Empowered" campaign aimed at curbing underage drinking.

Lawmakers did not act last session on a bill that would have eased population-based quotas on some liquor licenses. On Tuesday, the commission had to once again turn away some applicants because no more licenses were available.

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