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Cities see more tax revenue from alcohol
Guntersville in north Alabama observed its 20th anniversary in 2004 as Alabama's first wet city in a dry county. On July 10, 1984 Guntersville voters approved the legalization of alcoholic beverages by a huge 2-to-1 vote. The 75-plus percent turnout was the biggest the municipality has ever had in any kind of election, The Advertiser-Gleam, the city's local newspaper reported. Two other Alabama cities voted wet at the same time but they took longer to get sales started. Guntersville began legalized sales in August of '84. A new law had been passed by the Alabama Legislature in May of '84 that said that cities of 7,000 or more population could hold referendums. Guntersville's population in 1984 was 7,014. 'Dramatic effect' on city The Advertiser-Gleam, in a story marking the 10th anniversary in 1994 said that alcohol sales have "had a dramatic effect on the city's government finances. Alcohol taxes last year [1993] totaled $714,575. Sales taxes on beer added something like $235,000. That comes to right at $950,000 a year." The 1994 newspaper article said the alcohol revenue was the single greatest source of tax revenue for the city except for the sales tax and credited it as "the biggest single reason Guntersville's city government has stayed in better financial condition than any of the other cities in the county." The current 2004-05 Guntersville city budget allocates $819,543 for various taxes and licenses related to alcohol. Most of that, nearly $697,500, is allocated to alcohol taxes on beer. Economy said improved In a 20-year review in 2004, George Barnett, who was city attorney in 1984 observed, "In the early 1980s, you could have shot a cannon down main street and there wasn't much danger you'd hit anyone. There were a lot of empty buildings in town and unemployment was high." Elba sees results of going wet Elba, with a population of 4,100, is located in Coffee County. Voters there approved a local referendum in the latter part of 2002, allowing the legal sale of alcohol within the town limits. The largest municipality in the county, Enterprise, voted to legalize alcohol sales, paving the way for Elba to hold its own referendum. According to the town's city clerk Wayne Grantham, the town receives 10 percent of the gross tax revenues from hard liquor sales. The revenue the town receives from alcohol sales totals approximately $54,000 a year, according to the city's bookkeeper Pat Boothe. The city gives $5,000 a year to the public schools located in the town. The remaining money is put into the city's general fund. From a policeman's point of view, local alcohol sales have not affected how the police department conducts business. Acting Chief Freddie Hanchey, who was an officer in Elba before it went "wet," said there has been no increase in crime, traffic accidents, DUIs or underage drinking problems. "Nothing has gotten any worse," he said. "It only makes sense that if someone can buy it (alcohol) a mile from their home that they would more than likely take it home to drink it, whereas if they have to drive 15 or 20 miles to buy it, they will probably drink some on the way home." Clanton The city of Clanton, with a population of approximately 8,000, voted in 1986 to allow legal alcohol sales within its city limits. The town is located in Chilton County and is surrounded by "wet" counties. Voters there approved the change just two years after Guntersville, the state's first "wet" city inside a dry county, had a local referendum passed.
Mayor Billy Joe Driver said the city receives approximately $275,000 yearly in tax revenue from alcohol sales. He said the extra money has helped the city, but the city council chooses not to designate it to any certain programs. "We don't tie the revenue we get from liquor sales in with the annual budget," he said.
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