Recent scandals at local ABC boards in Wilmington and Charlotte have created political momentum for privatization of liquor sales in North Carolina.
If Gov. Bev Perdue and legislators pursue change, they must do so cautiously and conservatively. When it comes to selling liquor, a wide-open market is not right for North Carolina.
Perdue has said she wants North Carolina to remain a "control state." That is, she will accept privatization only if state and local governments continue to maintain control over sales. That could be accomplished through a number of business models in which private vendors ran stores or sales outlets.
This sounds like the right course to pursue. North Carolinians don't want giant liquor outlets moving here competing on price and convenience, advertising heavily and seemingly being located on every street corner. If the state and local governments maintain control of the system, they can decide just how many outlets there will be in each community, what kind of hours they will operate and how much they can compete on price.
Many communities still don't permit liquor sales either by the bottle or the cocktail. This is part of the state's strong conservative religious heritage. Whatever system emerges from the current controversy, it must reflect that tradition. It must also protect the local government revenue stream. Counties and municipalities cannot afford another financial hit.
The legislature has a special committee considering the issues involved with a privatization of liquor sales. It will report later this year. The state's ABC Commission has just hired a Chicago-based consultant to estimate the financial value of the state's system. When these two reports are complete, North Carolinians should have a better idea of the options available.
The state gives wide latitude to the local ABC commissions, and some have abused that flexibility. In Wilmington, the local board handed out $330,000 in salary and $50,000 in bonuses to a father-and-son team that runs New Hanover County's ABC operations. In Mecklenburg, a liquor distributor provided a lavish meal and night on the town to ABC board members.
It may be that the best change to the system would be to simply tighten regulations to keep similar scandals from happening in the future. The current system, if corrected, is a tough model to beat. It provides for controlled sales and a steady stream of local revenue.
But North Carolinians should keep an open mind on the subject of privatization until all of the reports are submitted. Only then will we be able to see if another model would work better than our current system.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement