Resident: Bottle sales beneficial

NORTHWEST ARKANSAS — A Kingston man is collecting signatures for a ballot issue regarding whether to allow packaged alcohol sales in Madison County.

“I haven’t been able to tell any practical effect for the county to be dry other than costing us tax revenue,” said Bob Barton, who’s leading the drive to put the question on the ballot for the first time since 1946.

Barton, a self-employed consultant, said he’s never led a ballot initiative. But the county needs a new jail and repairs to its courthouse, and Barton said he wanted to help find a wayto pay for such projects without raising taxes.

“Now seemed like a good time to bring it up,” Barton said.

The law allowing packaged liquor sales also includes language allowing the manufacture of alcohol.

It’s impossible to say how much tax revenue might be raised through alcohol sales in Madison County, said Michael Langley, director of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division of the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration.

State law allows one liquor store permit to be issued for every 4,000 people,Langley said. The number of permits is rounded down, so Madison County likely would get three liquor store permits based on its 2010 U.S. Census, he said.

Madison County is one of seven or eight counties in the state that doesn’t allow alcohol sales, Langley said. Many counties don’t have package sales but allow alcohol to be served by the drink at private clubs.

Madison County is bordered by three counties that allow package sales, Carroll, Franklin and Washington. The other bordering counties, Benton, Crawford, Johnson and Newton, don’t have liquor sales by the bottle, Langley said. A Benton County group announced an effort Monday for a ballot initiative to allow packaged liquor sales.

Langley said ballot issues in completely “dry” counties are typically successful if petitioners can get enough signatures to get the issue to voters.

“Recent history is, if it gets on the ballot, it gets approved,” he said.

Act 243 of 1993 requires 38 percent of registered voters to sign a petition to get an initiative regarding the sale and manufacture of alcohol on the ballot, Barton said. The number of voters is verified each June, Barton said, but he anticipates needing 3,100 to 3,200 valid signatures.

In November 2010, voters in Boone and Clark counties chose to allow the sale and manufacture of alcohol, making 35 of 75 of Arkansas’ counties “wet.”

Harrison Mayor Jeff Crockett said allowing alcohol sales has had a definite economic impact in Boone County, which was allocated nine liquor store permits.

“Countywide, my best guesstimate is we probably generate $300,000 a year directly from the sale of alcohol,” said Crockett, who led the petition drive in Boone County.

Crockett said alcohol sales also have an effect on the cities’ economies, because people who drove across county lines to buy alcohol typically spent money on other items, too. Now, instead of buying gasoline or dinner in a neighboring county, people make those purchases in Boone County, he said.

“Now they don’t have togo to the line, so they’re buying more in town,” Crockett said.

Crockett said Harrison also appears to have netted a reduction in incidences of drunken driving. He said the Harrison Police Department spent $28,000 more on enforcement in the past year but wrote fewer tickets for driving while intoxicated.

While restoring liquor sales to a county is beneficial, the petition drives are neither cheap nor easy, Crockett said. Successful drives typically involve hiring people to collect signatures because volunteers get tired of being harassed by opponents.

“You’d better get ready for a long battle and have some dollars to invest in it,” he said.

Barton said he and his wife fell in love with Madison County when they moved there 13 years ago but haven’t been politically active.

He said he began collecting signatures about two weeks ago and has a few people helping circulate petitions. Barton advertises his effort with banners on his truck and parks at visible locations, he said.

He said he’s looking for people in other parts of the county to help gather signatures and has started a wetmadison2012.blogspot.com to communicate with residents.

“This is just an individual effort,” Barton said. “I have a certain little budget I can spend on it before have to go back ask my wife for more money.”

Madison County Judge Frank Weaver said he’s aware of Barton’s effort but hasn’t considered it enough to comment.

“I don’t have an opinion now,” he said.

Huntsville Mayor Kevin Hatfield said he supports Barton’s effort and would sign the petition.

“I always think it’s a good idea to let people vote on anything,” Hatfield said. “That’s a matter of public policy. ” The Huntsville Chamber of Commerce has yet to discuss the petition drive and therefore has no official position, said David Pemberton, the chamber’s executive director.

Hatfield said that Madison County voters outlawed the sale of packaged alcohol in the 1940s.

“We haven’t visited the issue in over 75 years.” he said. “It’s time for folks to think about it.”