The fate of a proposed smoking ban will be determined next Tuesday when the City Council convenes to vote upon a city-wide ban barring smoking in bars and tavern establishments. However, many businesses believe the ban will fail to meet the goals it is designed to accomplish.

If the ban is passed, smoking will be officially outlawed in establishments by July 2005.

Despite recent studies from the Health Department and the Economic Development Commission against smoking in bars, businesses are more worried about the self- enforcement of the ban.

“The ban will be compliance driven, and I have detected strong support for it,” Ald. Steve Holtzman, District 19, said. “The real intention for the ban is to be a community standard that is self-enforcing.”

The self-enforcement of the smoking ban will come in the form of fines. The first offense will be a $125 citation followed by a $500 citation on the second offense.

The new language of the ordinance features no phasing increments of smoking and instead smoking will be permanently banned in all bars and taverns in July 2005. According to Holtzman, the July deadline gives establishments plenty of time to get the word out about no smoking.

Yet many bar owners find the self-enforcement of the ban to be problematic in staffing.

“If you’re a smoker, working in a bar is nice,” Irish Pub General Manager Jeff Mackesey said. “But the ban may affect our hiring, since six out of the seven people on staff are smokers.”

On top of staffing problems, Mackesey said the enforcement of the ban will also be challenging because bartenders and bar owners will be the people to handle unruly customers who violate the smoking ordinance.

“I really foresee fights and I would much rather the [Madison Police Department] deal with it,” Mackesey said.

Others agreed self-enforcement by bar staff is problematic because it will be another issue bartenders will have to deal with in addition to other problems associated with drunken patrons.

“I find the objective acceptance of ‘no smoking’ irritating,” State Street Brats Manager Matt Goetsch said. “I find it hard to enforce, and the city will put the burden and the tickets on businesses because police won’t and shouldn’t have to write smoking citations.”

Another issue establishments have with the smoking ban is the lack of information they have received concerning the issue. Mackesey said he has heard about the ban through the newspapers alone. Goetsch, too, said he has been both uninformed and unaware about the movement for the ban.

“I have gotten no letter or anything directly from the alders,” Goetsch said.

On top of enforcement problems, Goetsch also said he feels the ban will negatively affect business. Unlike some bars, State Street Brats features an outdoor garden where pedestrians can smoke. If the ban is enacted, Goetsch said he thinks the outdoor garden may help curb the negative effect of the ban by allowing customers who smoke an opportunity to smoke outside without having to leave the establishment.