JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) – On Tuesday afternoon, city officials in Johnson City gathered with local residents to talk about community events, safety reports, and a debated alcohol ordinance, which would mandate businesses to call last drinks by 1 a.m.

Many participants shared their concerns regarding potential revenue losses with Mayor John Hunter, City Manager Cathy Ball, and Main Street Director Lindsey Jones due to the proposed regulation.

“We want to work with you, but not at the detriment of ourselves,” one attendee said.

Mayor Hunter said that the city will work with businesses who are worried about potential lost revenue.

“I believe the city is open to collaborating with businesses to explore ways in which they can adjust their business model to be even more successful in the future,” stated Hunter.

Leaders gave statistics on downtown safety. They presented a list of the top ten incident call locations from March to June of this year and in 2024. Out of the ten, only one location was linked to a downtown bar.

“I feel as though we’ve been made to feel like we’re purposefully sending people out,” another attendee said. “Like we’re purposefully overserving people, we’re purposefully sending violent criminals out because once they’re out our door, we don’t care, which is not the case.”

One attendee asked the meeting’s crowd to raise their hand if they believed that the last call ordinance would benefit both the community and downtown businesses and bars; only four people raised their hands, including Hunter and Ball.

Attendees gave potential solutions to combat crime, other than closing bars earlier. One patron suggested more policing downtown, and another suggested trying the ordinance for a year to see how it affects the community.

Mayor Hunter said the city is open to ideas from residents and businesses.

“We’ve been listening to the input from not just the downtown bar owners, but citizens throughout the city,” Hunter said. “Those who are patrons downtown, those who want to be patrons of downtown, those who aren’t, to garner input as to what they feel would be effective and what it means to make Johnson City downtown vibrant and safe.”

The city is holding three public hearings to discuss the ordinance. The first reading and public meeting is July 17. The final two meetings are August 7 and August 21. The ordinance needs to pass all three meetings to be adopted.

If the ordinance is adopted, it would go into effect on August 22.