By Patrick Tepoorten

A month ago, the Rush City Council was making plans to close the municipal bar. The liquor committee had been instructed to seek costs for walling off and diverting heat from the on-sale portion of the city's liquor operations. The feeling of the council was that the bar was costing the city in the neighborhood of $20,000 - 25,000 in expenses.

At the Monday, Jan. 14 city council meeting, Mayor Jim Ertz said closing the bar "just won't work," after reviewing the financial statements with bar and liquor store manager Carol Hanson. In fact, based on the figures, it appears now that the bar is "carrying" the liquor store, exactly opposite the conventional wisdom expressed by the city on numerous occasions over the last year and a half or better.

What changed? Primarily, the idea that, by closing the bar, the city would save thousands, maybe tens of thousands of dollars in expenses. The bar and liquor operation, being as thinly staffed as it is, would not be significantly less staffed by closing the bar. And, when the bulk of on-sale employee expenses are moved to the off-sale along with a larger percentage of necessary operating expenses, it had a dramatic affect on the bottom line.

For the year 2007 through November, the off-sale went from showing a profit of more than $22,000, to showing a deficit of over $25,000. As profitable as the off-sale has looked historically on paper, once it has the primary expense burden, it ceases to be.

"I'm really surprised by the numbers," said Councilor Jamie Amundson.

"It is surprising. But that's the way it is," said Ertz, who given the mutually supporting nature of the bar and liquor store based on the new figures, recommended that, as long as the city continues to do liquor business in the current location, both the bar and the liquor store continue to operate.

This was good news for Hanson, who stated after the discussion that many of her customers were unhappy with the council's intention to close the bar. She came to the city council meeting with a petition including roughly 70 signatures of patrons desiring the city keep the bar open.

She noted on Tuesday morning that she was pleased with the council's decision. "I feel better," she said.

What the expense study shows, in the long run, is that the city is not now running a self-supporting liquor store. The council has commented frequently over the last year or more a desire to eventually move the liquor operation closer to the freeway and become solely off-sale in the process. Ertz said on Tuesday that, given the latest figures, that plan is going to have to be revisited. "We're going to have to look at that again now," he said, and added that a liquor operation would have to make at least $100,000 annually in order to make the move possible.

The city will have to decide if that increase is possible before it decides to make a move.