Audit: Utah Liquor Stores Not Selling Alcohol Fast Enough At Most Locations

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Wine, beer and spirits are not flying off the shelves of Utah state liquor stores as often as officials had hoped, according to a report released Tuesday by Utah's state auditor.

The report presented to Utah's liquor control board Tuesday morning shows that from mid-2012 to early 2014, only 13 of 44 stores met a goal of selling and restocking all inventory every month.

In the Salt Lake City suburb of Murray, 90 percent of the inventory is sold at least once a month. In the southwestern Utah city of Hurricane, with about 14,500 people, the state liquor store sells only 40 percent of its inventory every month.

Utah's Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control had set the inventory goal to cut the cost of holding products.

The audit released Tuesday is part of new routine oversight of the alcohol agency following reports of mismanagement several years ago.

Audits in 2011 found years of mismanagement at the agency and led to the firing or resignation of seven top department executives.

The new report from Utah State Auditor John Dougall found no major concerns and zeroed in managing store inventories and cutting employee turnover at state liquor stores.

Dougall's office suggested liquor officials tailor their inventories to meet consumer demands and maximize space.

For example, liquor stores could receive high-demand products twice a week instead of once week and cut their stock of products that aren't selling as fast.

Dougall's office said selling the entire inventory every month is a reasonable goal, though they noted other industries, such as grocery stores, don't sell their inventories as quickly.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.