Questions answered by Lamar Paris, County Commissioner
Certain comments are being made regarding the upcoming alcohol vote and I have received many questions and comments. I will attempt to answer some of the questions, but remember that deception comes in many flavors.
Q. Will it really cost the taxpayers $21.42 in expense for every $1 in revenue received from alcohol? I was recently told that.
A. While it would be very tough to come up with an accurate cost for alcohol, no one will deny there is a financial cost to this issue. We should all remember that if Union County, in addition to being dry and also had no one consuming alcohol, then based on the above figures we would lose $20.42 for every dollar received. However, the truth is our citizens that currently drink locally will continue to drink locally. Unfortunately, there are those in our community that are addicted to alcohol and drugs. The Union County taxpayers are presently paying the costs associated with the negative parts of alcohol consumption. Consequently, if we do not receive additional revenue, we have no funds to offset this cost that we will have regardless of the vote.
Q. If Union County passes the alcohol referendums will it cause more problems than we already have?
A. No one knows for sure but our neighboring counties and cities do not think so. However, we are most likely not looking at a significant increase per capita in local consumption because is already occurring in our county. We are simply looking at supplementing revenue from sales currently going outside our county. In the past several months and years many of our surrounding counties and cities have legalized alcohol sales. In speaking with different officials and citizens in those areas including Fannin County, Lumpkin County, City of Dahlonega, White County (not including Helen), Murphy, N C, Hayesville/Clay Co, NC, and Towns Co., there have been few problems reported and some significant revenue increases.
Q. Is crime increased by alcohol consumption?
A. Possibly, but local alcohol use is currently present in Union County. Through local sales the increased revenue can be used to offset the alcohol related problems that exist today. Alcohol, when consumed responsibly, is a legal act defined by State and Federal law and it has become a part of our society’s fabric, like it or not. The vast majority of those who use alcohol are responsible and cause no problems and resent others trying to control the use and ability to purchase it.
Q. It was reported that Union County has one of the highest alcohol consumption rates by underage kids. Is that true?
A. This is a nationwide problem and unfortunately Union County is not an exception. With alcohol readily available at our borders, most likely local sales will have little impact on our youth choosing not to drink. In fact it is stated that more high school kids are trying alcohol than smoking. Also, many suggest that our kids are so involved with alcohol because it is similar to the “forbidden fruit” theory. The fact we are telling them they can not have it in our county could be making them try even harder to obtain it. With cigarettes, you can buy them anywhere so it is no big deal. So any studies or statistics can always be looked at in different lights.
Q. I heard someone say that you or anyone who votes “yes” should be personally blamed if there was a teenage death because of alcohol consumption. Is that fair?
A. It is ridiculous and I resent that statement very much. Whether the alcohol issue is passed or not it will not be anyone’s fault. It will be a decision of the voters. If I had wanted to put beer and wine alcohol sales in Union County, all I have to do is issue a license, but I have chosen to let it be a vote of the public. If you have kids that are illegally drinking now, look no further than the home or those who are illegally giving it to them. Blaming others is a cop out.
Legally selling or serving alcohol in Union County should have no bearing on kids obtaining it illegally. It is obvious that kids are easily obtaining alcohol now and how ever they are doing it, it will probably continue whether or not Union County has sales. Our regulations will be tougher than any of the surrounding counties or cities, so I anticipate illegal purchasing will continue in other areas as is currently occurring.
It will be up to kid’s parents, churches, peers and treatment facilities to help kids stem the tide of underage consumption.
Q. Is it true that the “church people” are the ones fighting alcohol sales in Union County?
A. I do not think it is appropriate to label people for what they believe in. There are simply people that believe both ways (churched and unchurched) and we should all have the equal right to express our views. But we should also be respectful of each other and our differing opinions.
Q. Someone quoted you from a newspaper story saying that you would not bring this issue up again to the voters. Have you lied to them?
A. Those quotes were made immediately following the election four years ago. The quote was, “The voters have decided and that is the way it should be. The issue is over and Union County will remain dry. This is one issue I am glad is behind us.”
Those were all very true statements that night. I did not say that Union County will remain dry forever. I could have put it back on the ballot two years later. But I made a commitment to anyone who asked me that it would not come back up on the ballot in my then current term as commissioner. I did not even know if I would be reelected at that time. I never promised anyone that it would never come up again. In fact, I consistently said to anyone who asked me personally that it would not come up that term and I would not make any commitments for the future.
Taking my words referring to an election just passed and adding the terms “forever” is both inappropriate and inaccurate.
Q. Why did you decide to place the alcohol issue on the ballot again?
A. I run a four year term. Several people ask me, when it was on the ballot before and was defeated, if I would put it on the ballot again. I consistently told anyone that personally asked me that I would not put it on the ballot during that term of office but would not rule out anything in the future. My job as commissioner is to listen to the public and to make decisions based on their input.
If the other areas around us were still dry and if we were still in good economic times, there would be no reason to place this on the ballot again. But a lot of changes have occurred in the past four years. We have many people out of jobs and it is obvious we can not depend on construction alone to carry the load going forward. We must diversify our economy as much as possible.
Q. Who have you heard from wanting to have another vote on alcohol?
A. Many people from all walks of life. I can assure you that I would not be going through this mess if it were left up to me personally. Most recently, we had some people who wanted to donate several cases of wine to a local charity so that they could either sell it as silent auction items or sell it individually to help raise money. They called me to see if it was OK. I had to tell them that it was not legal to do any of that, not even to be able to give it away. In this day and age, I am not sure that makes sense any longer.
Q. If alcohol sales passes, what type of regulations will be have?
A. I will be appointing an “Alcohol Board” to regulate the issuance of alcohol licenses and conformation of license agreements. This Board will also assist in adoption of an ordinance.
Some items have been settled on already if the issue passes. If it fails, it does not matter.
There will be funds set aside, at least $ 50,000, restricted for use of organizations who work with alcohol abuse or prevention. Currently we have no funding available to assist any of these organizations.
There will be no stand alone bars.
There will be no package stores.
There will not be Sunday sales.
There will be no exterior advertising signs allowed.
There will be severe penalties and fines for underage or after hours sales.
Those establishments who currently allow brown bagging may choose to continue as they are currently doing if they do not want to purchase a license for sales.
Q. There are those who are saying that since we already have an alcohol problem with certain parts of our society, legalizing sales in our county will just make it worse. Is that true?
A. I am not aware of any studies that pertain to our particular situation. Yes, we have DUI’s, yes we have underage drinking problems. But this is all with NO ALCOHOL SALES allowed in our county. I have heard from more than one law enforcement official and others who suggest that part of our problem may be that some of our citizens are driving to other counties to purchase alcohol and drinking it on the way home, where if they could simply purchase it here, they would go home before drinking. All of these are just opinions that have been expressed to me time and again. However, I think we would be hard pressed to find studies to the contrary.
Q. Are you trying to convince the public to vote for alcohol sales?
A. No. Each person must vote their conscience. However, I think it is important for people to have as many of the facts and opinions as possible prior to voting and not be deceived by either side quoting facts and statistics.