By Nathan Straus
nstraus@jacksonvilleprogress.com
A wet Jacksonville will still lack liquor — an item Cuney offers in large quantities.
However, Cuney store owners said liquor sales alone would not go nearly far enough to keep the stores afloat.
Khien Thach, owner of T’s Discount Liquor on State Highway 175 in Cuney, said about 20 percent of his sales go toward liquor instead of beer and wine.
“I think it is because of the economy,” Thach said.
He said several years ago, the percentage of liquor sales was far higher, even up to the 75 percent range.
Representatives from Arun Rise Liquor, located on the same road in Cuney, offered a similar estimate of 20 percent to liquor and 80 percent otherwise.
Thach said he lost 20 percent of his business when Rusk legalized alcohol and expects to lose 90 percent of the remainder if Jacksonville goes wet.
Arun Rise officials said they lost about 40 percent of their business when Rusk went wet. A spokesperson at the store said if Jacksonville goes wet, 90 percent of Cuney’s remaining alcohol business will go to Jacksonville and the remainder will be split among all the shops.
The stats
From 2002 to 2009, Cuney has posted gross sales amounts of between just under $5 million and just more than $7 million each year. The biggest year for Cuney was 2008, with an income of $7,366,231. The year of smallest gross was 2005, with sales coming in at $4,955,901. Quarterly totals for the third and fourth quarters of 2009 and the 2009 yearly total are not yet available.
All numbers here are from the retail industry, in which alcoholic beverages occupy the vast majority of sales. The retail industry numbers are identical in every way to the all industries total numbers for Cuney.
In December, Cuney took a net sales tax allocation of $9,204.73. The allocation is down 1.26 percent over this time last year, which was $9,322.95. The city’s allocations this year to date are still up 35.29 percent over last year to this date; $138,169.79 compared to $102,124.92.
Rusk’s gross retail trade data since legalizing alcohol sales within the city limits was not available. Mike Murray, city manager, said alcohol sales’ contributions to the city coffers are difficult to project at this point in time.
“I would estimate it’s about a 5 to 10 percent increase in sales tax total,” Murray said. “It’s very difficult to tell how alcohol sales are contributing.”
Rusk received $43,985.28 in sales tax allocations in December, up 2.75 percent from last year’s December total of $42,717.51. To date, the city has received $613,782.85 this year, up 12.39 percent from last year’s $546,091.92.
Last year, Jacksonville posted a sales tax report with gross sales of $528,168,011. Its December allocation was 14.09 percent lower than last year’s December allocation; $205,489.81 compared to $239,205.15. This year to date, Jacksonville has seen $3,097,218.02 in allocations, a 2.54 percent rise from last year’s $3,020,391.55.
The bottom line
Rusk store owners estimated a loss of about 20 percent in alcohol-related business if Jacksonville goes wet. While it is too early to place a monetary value on this figure, an estimate can be taken from Cuney’s statistics.
According to Cuney shop owner estimates and tax and sales data gathered from the Texas State Comptroller’s Web site, Jacksonville could take around 90 percent of Cuney’s yearly gross of between $5 million and $7 million. That figure is in addition to the estimated 20 percent of Rusk’s alcohol sales which could go to Jacksonville if alcohol is approved for sale in Jacksonville. There was no word Friday from the state comptroller’s office on how much money returned to the city this would mean.
Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission representatives said liquor elections would require an additional special option election, but it could be done after or at the same time as a beer and wine election. Jacksonville’s ongoing petition for alcohol sales within city limits is not for liquor.
