Pearl River County residents to vote on expanding alcohol sales
PEARL RIVER COUNTY, Miss. (WXXV) — Residents of Pearl River County will have the chance to decide in the November 3 general election if alcohol sales will be permitted in the county.
Twenty years after Pearl River County residents voted against a proposal to allow alcohol sales in the dry county, the issue will once again be put to a vote in the November 3 general election.
“A lot more people have asked for it, and we want to encourage people to shop locally, and so this is just another way to help encourage that,” said Sid Albritton.
Life-long resident of Pearl River County, Sid Albritton has spearheaded efforts to bring the issue to voters, gathering well over 1,500 signatures through a petition. The county’s board of supervisors has since voted to approve placing the referendum on the ballot.
“The last time it was on the ballot was about 20 years ago and it really wasn’t pushed hard then. And I just think that it’s a different mindset and there’s a lot more things going on here. A lot more people move here , and a lot more people want to move here, and we wanna have things available for people that want them,” he said.
Albritton says the current ban has long pushed spending and tax revenue into neighboring counties and parishes, so the hopes are that if the referendum passes, that money will stay local.
“What happens here, being a border county, we have a lot of sales tax leakage, so it hurts our businesses here when individuals go… if you’re in the southern part of the county they tend to go to the Northshore, St. Tammany Parrish to buy alcohol. On the north end in the Poplarville area, they tend to go over to Washington Parrish and Bogalusa,” said Albritton. “So we have a lot of sales tax leakage, and when they do that, they also buy other things, go to dinner, things like that. So, really that’s the issue with a lot of people is just keeping it here.”
Two referendums will appear on the ballot. One for alcoholic liquors and another for beer and wine.
As of now, beer and light wine can already be purchased in Picayune and Poplarville city limits only, and restaurants in those cities are permitted to serve alcohol by the glass. But if passed, liquor and beer will be available for purchase throughout the county through package stores.
“Both initiatives are on there. I feel like they’re complimentary of one another, because most people aren’t… they’re either for them both or they’re against them both,” Albritton said.
To pass, the initiative will need a simple majority of over 50% of the vote.
