Last Call Shot Down

BALLSTON SPA — A decades-long effort to curtail drinking hours in Saratoga Springs was narrowly rejected by Supervisors at the county table this week. The resolution requested the state Liquor Authority restrict the hours of sale of alcoholic beverages countywide. 

The proposal to alter “Last Call’ hours had, in one form or another, been forwarded from the city of Saratoga Springs to the county three previous times during the past 20 or so years. In each case, the measure never secured necessary approval at the county subcommittee level to be brought for a full board discussion. 

The April 15 Board of Supervisors meeting marked the first time the resolution came to a full board vote, even as more than one-third of the supervisors were absent from the meeting. 

Supervisors, in number, voted 9-6 against the proposal to potentially alter Last Call hours in Saratoga County, with 8 of the 23 supervisors absent. The Board uses a weighted voting system based on population numbers in which county specific supervisors serve. Approximate calculations utilizing that system indicate that the measure failed 83,000 to 75,000, with 77,500 others left absent in the vote.   

“The Saratoga Springs City Council has been debating this for almost two decades,” Saratoga Springs city  Supervisor Michele Madigan told the Board prior to the vote, citing measures initiated by former commissioners John Franck – in 2010, and Chris Mathiesen – two years later. “I don’t believe were trying to limit businesses, but to ensure and enhance public safety,” she said.

To that point, city Public Safety Commissioner Tim Coll and county Sheriff Michael Zurlo had each expressed support for earlier Last Call times at bars.

“We went back four years and when you look at our use-of-force incidents in the nightlife district in Saratoga Springs, 55% of those incidents happened after 2 a.m.,” said Commissioner Coll. “Reducing the hours with earlier closing times has the potential for us to reduce overtime as well as to keep officers more safe.” 

The New York State Alcoholic Beverage Control Law prohibits sales of alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption between the hours of 4 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Sunday, and between the hours of 4 a.m. and 8 a.m. on any other day.  

The proposed resolution requested the SLA implement changes effective Jan. 1, 2026 across Saratoga County that would set Last Call at 2 a.m. from Nov. 1 to April 30 (with a 4 a.m. exception on New Year’s Eve), and at 3 a.m. from May 1 to Oct. 31. The “Last Call” proposal specified that bars may stay open beyond the stipulated “Last Call” time and continue to serve food and drinks – merely that they may not involve alcohol. 

Carving out the time change solely for the city of Saratoga Springs requires state approval and is not believed to be a viable option. 

A Public Hearing was held at the county complex in Ballston Spa on April 9 to solicit community input on the proposed changes. Three people spoke in-person and four letters were received. Six of the seven public responses were in favor of the change. All six favoring the change came from Saratoga Springs city residents.

“The city (of Saratoga Springs) is asking for this, so maybe there’s more work to be done to try to show the impact on each town,” city Supervisor Matt Veitch said immediately following the Board vote on April 15.  

“We are a Board of Supervisors and we all look at our own towns first. They’re looking out for what happens in their towns, so I don’t hold any ‘no’ votes against those towns.  They’re doing what they feel is right by their constituents,” Veitch said. “I’m not sure what the process would be to re-introduce it.”  

“I don’t know if we’re going to see earlier bar closings any time soon, but we’re going to discuss it,” Supervisor Madigan added. 

How They Voted

There are 23 supervisors on the board representing Saratoga County’s 21 municipalities. Each county is represented by at least one supervisor, with Clifton Park and Saratoga Springs – the two municipalities with the largest populations – each represented by two supervisors. 

The board had established a population of 25,000 residents as the threshold for the number of supervisors each county would have to represent them; less than 25,000 residents meant one supervisor, more than 25,000 meant two. When 2022 census reports showed the population in the town of Halfmoon had risen above that 25,000 population threshold – indicating a second supervisor would be required, the board instead voted to approve raising the population threshold to 27,500, essentially maintaining one supervisor for the town.  

As such, current Halfmoon Supervisor Kevin Tollisen carries the board’s single most powerful weighted vote, counting as more than 25,600, with the two supervisors in Clifton Park – counting at just over 19,000 each, closest behind.  

The results of this week’s vote, calculated using Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Weighted Vote, Local Law No. 1 of 2022 is as follows:  

In Favor: Charlton Joe Grasso 4,328; Clifton Park Philip Barrett 19,014.5; Saratoga Ian Murray 5,808; Saratoga Springs Michele Madigan 14,245.5; Saratoga Springs Matthew Veitch 14,245.5; Wilton John Lant 17,361.

Total In Favor: 75,002.5

Against: Corinth Eric Butler 6,500; Day Harry Brennan 819; Edinburg Robert Anderson 1,333; Hadley Arthur Wright 1,976; Halfmoon Kevin Tollisen 25,662; Malta Cynthia Young 17,130; Mechanicville Thomas Richardson 5,163; Moreau Jesse Fish 16,202; Waterford David Ball 8,208.

Total Against: 82,993

Absent: Ballston Eric Connolly 11,831; Clifton Park Angela Thompson 19,014.5; Galway J.D. Arnold 3,525; Greenfield Kevin Veitch 8,004; Milton Scott Ostrander 18,800; Northumberland Willard H. Peck 5,242; Providence Sandra Winney 2,075; Stillwater Edward Kinowski 9,022.

Total Absent at Vote: 77,513.5