Posted 2:26 am Wednesday, April 07, 2010
Public Hears Alcohol Views In Jacksonville
By KELLY GOOCH
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
JACKSONVILLE -- Jacksonville's alcohol election heated up Tuesday as both sides presented their views to about 40 people at a Cherokee County Conservative Women meeting.
George Douglas spoke on behalf of Progress Jacksonville, a special purpose political action committee in support of legalizing alcohol sales, and Matt Montgomery represented the opposition group, Family First Jacksonville. Attendees could then ask questions.
"We usually have candidates speak on issues that affect the community, but we felt this was the only time to hear both sides (before the May 8 election)," CCCW President Jill Wallace said. "Anything that affects our community, we want to be informed."
Progress Jacksonville gave remarks first since it won a drawing.
Douglas told attendees that Jacksonville is not "dry" per se because some restaurants serve beer, wine and spirits.
Therefore, the election is not as much about Jacksonville being dry or wet but rather the purchase of alcohol, he said.
The two propositions residents will vote on are "the legal sale of beer and wine for off-premise consumption only" and "the legal sale of mixed beverages in restaurants by food and beverage certificate holders only."
The first proposition would allow the sale of beer and wine for off-premise consumption at places such as convenience stores and grocery stores, and the other would allow restaurants to sell beer and wine without requiring private club memberships.
Douglas said passing such propositions would benefit Jacksonville.
He said that in 2008 the alcoholic beverage industry supported $36.6 billion in total annual sales and created more than 300,000 jobs.
"While there are certain social issues to be considered in wet/dry decisions, available evidence suggests there is no correlation between alcohol and related problems and whether an area is wet or dry, and by some measure there are even more alcohol-related problems in dry areas than in wet," he said.
Douglas added, "dry areas have little or no ability to impact or control the consumption of alcohol. Residents of dry areas simply have to drive to a wet neighboring wet area to buy alcohol. Dry areas do not deter or protect people from social problems; it is only an inconvenience for Jacksonville residents."
He said although there are issues associated with alcohol abuse, such as alcoholism, crime and drunk driving, Progress Jacksonville found no studies that find a correlation between accessibility and social problems.
"Some might say it's a moral or religious issue but it's not. It's an economic issue," Douglas said.
Based on a 2008 report, called the Perryman Report, which was extrapolated to fit Jacksonville, Douglas estimated that 74 jobs could be gained and Jacksonville's sales tax revenue would increase $174,000 if the city legalized alcohol sales.
As Douglas concluded his remarks, he encouraged attendees to vote for both propositions.
He said voting "yes" would in turn keep money in the local community, level the playing field with surrounding communities, hopefully hold down future tax increase and could have a positive medical impact if alcohol is used in moderation, among other things.
Montgomery said Family First Jacksonville believes the two propositions are bad for families, children and the aesthetics of Jacksonville. However, on Tuesday, the group wanted to address statistics and economic impact.
"We're not here to make this a moral issue," he said. "Our goal is not to pass judgment on anyone who wants this. Many of our friends, our neighbors, people we work with, go to church with will vote 'yes' to these referendums. We just don't agree with them on this issue."
Montgomery said if people are going to vote "yes," they should make sure the economic benefits are real and traceable.
For example, he said Corsicana's gross retail sales increased 42 percent since the city legalized alcohol sales six years ago and Jacksonville's gross retail sales went up 39 percent during the same period without alcohol sales.
Based on that data, residents cannot assume that Corsicana's increase was directly tied to alcohol or that Jacksonville would have more retail sales if they had been selling alcohol, Montgomery said.
"How do we know this? Cities that sell beer and wine in grocery stores and convenience stores cannot trace the actual sales tax revenue," he said. "When a city allows beer and wine to be sold in its grocery stores and convenience stores, they get taxed just like milk, bread and cookies. Sales from beer and wine are not broken out."
He also noted that while beer and wine sales in stores are not broken out, hard liquor sales in restaurants are traceable.
Montgomery said that, according to the state comptroller's Web site, only 1 percent of the state's sales tax revenue last year came from liquor sales.
Additionally, he said economic studies are revenue driven, including economist Ray Perryman's, and do not analyze the potential costs of a town going wet.
He said the economic benefits of legalizing alcohol sales also get diluted as more surrounding communities go wet.
After hearing both sides of the issue, residents stood up and voiced their opposition to the alcohol election.
Margie Benge said Jacksonville has residents who go to Alcoholics Anonymous, and having to pass stores that sell alcohol on their way to meetings would present them with another challenge.
Carol Lee said her son has a mental illness and anything he drinks affects his medicine. Therefore, she does not want alcohol easily accessible to him.
Jacksonville ISD school board member Joe Casey said he believes legalizing alcohol sales would not be good for children.
"It's like having cookies in the house when you're watching you're diet," Casey said. "I'm not convinced we need to bring the cookie jar and put it in our kitchen."
