The small town of Wesson, in Copiah County, is an excellent example of how creative governments can be when tax revenue is involved.
Wesson’s sales taxes have taken a hit in the past five years because the nearby town of Brookhaven legalized liquor sales in 2013. Before that, a number of Brookhaven residents drove a few miles to Wesson to buy liquor.
This made a significant difference in Wesson’s tax receipts — to the point that the town is taking in $2,000 to $3,000 a month less than it used to. In fact, the largest of two liquor stores in Wesson moved to Brookhaven when liquor became legal there.
So to make up for the loss of liquor sales, Wesson wants to expand its offerings by selling beer and wine. This, of course, illustrates one of the more fascinating elements of Mississippi alcohol laws — how can products like bourbon and scotch be legal to sell but not beer and wine?
That is an editorial for another day. For now, it’s worth looking at how Wesson figured out a way to get a beer and wine referendum before voters.
Truthfully, it was a masterstroke. Wesson, which is located at the southern end of Copiah County, in 2018 annexed U.S. 51 right-of-way property going about a mile south into Lincoln County. That put the town’s boundaries exactly three miles away from Brookhaven’s.
The distance is important, because it allowed Wesson, population 1,900, to meet the terms of a state law that allows any municipality with 1,500 or more residents to hold a referendum on legalizing beer sales — if it is within three miles of a town or county that permits the sale of alcohol.
Wesson’s beer and wine advocates, which probably included elected officials who have had to deal with the loss of tax revenue, have rounded up the signatures of 20 percent of registered voters for a referendum.
When it’s time to vote, it will be interesting to see who carries the day.
Those concerned about the potential negative impact of more alcohol products being sold in town or those concerned about the loss of business and sales taxes.
