Residents of Decatur, you are about to have one of the biggest votes the town has seen in many years.
It is an opportunity to allow alcohol sales within the city limits. Voters have the option of rejecting it all, allowing beer and wine, allowing hard liquor or allowing all alcohol sales. If you aren't going to be in town, you can still absentee if you show up at town hall by noon Saturday. If you are in town, visit the polling place at Decatur Town Hall from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.
I understand the position of both sides. First of all, it is a great opportunity to see if the town can increase its tax base. Alcohol will generate more sales tax. It will allow nicer restaurants to have a chance to succeed in town, as they can have up to 25 percent of their revenue coming from alcohol sales.
And when it comes to hard liquor, the city receives a portion of the sales as part of the package store selling liquor.
There’s no hard number on what that could mean, but some estimates seem to say that the town could see an increase of 25 percent in sales.
On the other hand, not much good can come out of alcohol. It could potentially lead to more people becoming alcoholics as they have easier access to it. You might could use the drunken driver argument, as many of us know people who were killed or seriously injured in an accident with a drunken driver.
So this election is an election to determine just what Decatur will look like over the future. Does it want to have alcohol sales, or not?
Alcohol is coming into the city limits, but does the city want to have alcohol to be sold here.
It’s your decision.
Brent can be reached at bmaze@newtoncountyappeal.com.
