Politics & Government

Hiram's Sunday Sales Could Start Soon

Hiram Mayor Jack Paris said the city council could enact the expansion of alcohol sales as early as next week.

Nov. 20 could be the first Sunday Hiram retailers would be able to ring up package sales of alcohol.

Following Tuesday’s elections, in which 55.5 percent of participating Hiram voters , Hiram Mayor Jack Paris told Dallas-Hiram Patch that he would bring the issue to the city council at .

“I am going to recommend that it take effect immediately. There’s no reason not to since it was passed by the city,” Paris said.

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Should the council move on a measure affirming the wishes of Tuesday’s voters, Paris said those businesses with alcohol licenses would not have to pay any increased fees nor come before the city to amend the language of their licenses.

“Nothing’s going to change—they’ll just be able to sell on Sundays as opposed to not selling on Sundays,” he said.

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“The grocery stores, all the convenience stores, they’re open on Sundays anyway, so that’s just added revenue for them,” Paris added. “The liquor stores, they have the option as to whether or not they want to open. That was their only day off in the past, and that’s their option—it’s nothing they have to do.”

Some critics of Sunday package sales say that from a business standpoint, retailers may gain little or even lose money due to the extra day to sell. Retailers who choose to open seven days, they say, may see little change to their revenue but see added expenses in opening the store that extra day, while those retailers that choose to open on Sundays or are already open on Sundays could pull customers away from those that choose to remain closed.

Paris said that while it remains to be seen how Sunday package sales will impact city sales tax revenues, he believes Hiram will see some impact by allowing retailers to sell seven days a week.

“It may not have a lot, because in the past, the people that drank on Sunday would buy it on Saturday night,” he said. “But I’m sure it will have a little impact.

“And [Sunday package sales] wasn’t something that we were in favor of or against—it was just something the state gave us the opportunity to put on the ballot, and we put it on the ballot for the voters. And it was their choice, not ours.”

The Sunday sales referendum was one of four races Hiram voters weighed in on Tuesday, as they picked the winners of and saw Paris . More than 17 percent of the city’s eligible voters cast ballots, , where voters and , though two of the council races featured unopposed incumbents.

Nearly every city and county in Georgia that put up a Sunday sales referendum in Tuesday’s elections , with support ranging from about 53 percent to an overwhelming 91 percent in Decatur.


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