Let's Party in Ballinger Where Voters Just Approved Liquor Sales

BALLINGER, TX – As votes were tallied Tuesday, the message was clear, Ballinger residents approved the sale of beer, wine, and mixed drinks via Proposition A on Nov. 7.  Balloting showed 310 voters approved and 140 against the sale of mixed drinks at business establishments.

During June 2017, Tyler Smith, of Willingham Insurance and Realty in Ballinger, who also served in 2016 as that town's Chamber of Commerce president, put together a petition to add Prop. A on ballot. To get the issue added to the ballot proponents of booze needed to collect 205 signatures of registered voters from within the Ballinger's city limits that could be verified.  

Smith says, "People asked if I was doing it to open a bar.  I just wanted it so current business owners could add another revenue stream and new businesses would come in." 

Until the proposition was approved by voters, the only place in Ballinger you could purchase a mixed drink was at the Ballinger Country Club, which requires a membership. Prop A will only take effect inside the city limits of Ballinger, and the tax revenue will be split between the city and Runnels County.  Booze sales now can capitalize on the traffic on U.S. 67 that runs through the town.