In the near future, citizens across the State of Georgia will be voting on whether or not to allow Sunday alcohol sales. Dawson County has the opportunity to be one of the first to vote on this issue.

In business, location is everything and our county is in the perfect location. With thousands of people traveling on Ga. 400 each Sunday, passage of a referendum will generate tax revenue for the county, increase sales for local businesses and for a limited time generate additional sales to persons living in surrounding counties. This issue will be decided by the voters, it is only a question of when.

There is no question Dawson County needs the money. This is not the time for the county commission to drag its feet. Commission Chairman Mike Berg has expressed reservations about spending $15,000 for a special election. It is a shame Mr. Berg did not exercise this new found fiscal caution before bonding the new courthouse and other SPLOST V expenditures.

To put this in perspective, a special election would cost roughly the same amount as two days interest on the bonds for the above referenced projects.

Waiting until the next scheduled election will result in over a year of lost revenue from Sunday sales. Regardless of which side of this issue you support, it needs to be decided immediately.

In this case, time really is money and we cannot afford hesitation from our elected officials.

Kirk Brookshire
Dawson County