• From the Philadelphia Inquirer
HARRISBURG, PA --
- The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board's oft-criticized wine kiosks
have cost taxpayers more than $1 million and should be scrapped unless
dramatic improvements are made, according an audit by state Auditor
General Jack Wagner.
"We think the wine-kiosk program has failed,
and it needs dramatic, radical changes if the program is going to
continue to exist," Wagner said Tuesday at a news conference in the
Capitol.
The audit found that wine-dispensing machines fell short
in large part because of numerous mechanical problems late last year
that, in an embarrassing move, forced the LCB to shut them down for a
month.
Beyond
that, the audit also found that the machines never lived up to the goal
of making it more convenient for customers to buy wine, nor did they
deliver on the promise of making money for the LCB and state government.
As
of this summer, the LCB has spent more to operate the 32 kiosks than it
took in, resulting in an operating shortfall of about $1.1 million,
Wagner said.
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