Scenes like last week's at the Venue Live, where dozens of police are called to break up brawls, come with a big taxpayer bill.

"If you have 18 officers and two sergeants for a total of four hours, the cost to taxpayers is $5,300," explains Lansing City Attorney Brig Smith.

But a resolution okay'ed Tuesday by a city council committee would re-direct that cost right back to the business owner.

"I guess how you'd put it is three strikes and you may be out," Smith says.

Smith says the rule would be this: The first two times police are called to a big event that totals more than $5,000, the business will get a warning, and the city will swallow the cost. But the third time the bill exceeds $5,000-- the business will have to pay. If they don't pay, their cabaret license can be revoked.

"This isn't just a backup call to Rosemary," Smith says. "This is a big incident. It's unfair for taxpayers to shoulder that burden."

Smith wants to make it clear the fights at the Venue are not the reason for the new resolution.

"This is not the 'Venue Ordinance,'" he says. "This is a crowd control ordinance. It easily could apply to Cadillac Club, back in the day, or Coscarelli's."

Still, attorney for the Venue Charles Ford is not happy.

"If you pay the money, have you dealt with the problem? You haven't," he says.

He says he'd much prefer making a policy that outlines how businesses and police will work together when there are big nights at a club like the Venue, though he wouldn't go so far as to call it unfair.

Council will vote on the $5,000 target Monday.

Smith also says the city reserves the right to take licenses away anyway, even if the business pays up.