Commissioners vote to put expanded alcohol sales (malt beverage and unfortified wine) on 2026 ballot

Macon County commissioners voted unanimously to place a referendum on the Nov. 2026 general election ballot asking residents whether to permit expanded sales of malt beverages and unfortified wine both for on‑premise (restaurants/clubs) and off‑premise (retail) sales.

County staff explained statutory constraints and options. Malt beverages and unfortified wine may be authorized by local referendum under state law; enabling liquor by the drink (distilled spirits) is more complex and would generally require an ABC store and, in Macon’s case, negotiation or a local bill to account for existing ABC operations in towns such as Franklin and Highlands. County staff noted examples from other counties where joint ABC boards or negotiated revenue splits between town and county were used when both jurisdictions had interests.

Commissioner Bridal moved to adopt a resolution placing the on‑ and off‑premise question for malt beverages and unfortified wine on the Nov. 2026 general election ballot; Commissioner Shields seconded and the motion passed 5–0.

What this means: the referendum will allow county voters to approve or reject expanded local retail and restaurant sales of beer and unfortified wine. If voters approve and local businesses pursue new licenses, county staff will follow statutory ballot language and implementation steps when the county board certifies the referendum following election results.

Next steps: staff will finalize the resolution language consistent with state statute, submit the resolution for ballot placement, and return process details as required by the election timeline.