Vicksburg officials are hoping the state’s revenue commissioner will agree to a request to pull resort status from four local clubs inside the city limits, cutting off liquor sales at 2 a.m.

The resolution approved Wednesday by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen does not affect the city’s four casinos, Mayor George Flaggs Jr. said, adding it is asking the Mississippi Department of Revenue to remove resort status from the Beechwood Inn on East Clay Street, Monsour’s at the Biscuit Company and the Upper End, both on Washington Street, and LD’s Kitchen on Mulberry Street.

“We’ve been working for a while on trying to resolve issues after 2 a.m. (involving liquor sales),” City Attorney Nancy Thomas said. “Most clubs and bars in the city have to close at 2, but there are some that have been designated as resorts that can stay open all night. We’ve had problems with law enforcement issues, disturbing the neighborhood issues, and so we are requesting the Department of Revenue, which has jurisdiction over the sale of alcoholic beverages, that they set the time to cut off the sale of alcohol (at 2 a.m.).”

Under state law, the resort areas are exempt from the city’s ordinance that prohibits the sale of alcohol provisions from between 2 and 7 a.m. Monday through Saturday and from 2 to 11 a.m. on Sunday, and can sell alcohol 24 hours a day.

Under the law, the city can file a petition with the Department of Revenue to designate the hours when alcohol can be served. After the petition, or resolution is received, the commissioner of revenue reviews the information and decides whether to pull the resort status.

“I think it’s worth noting that we believe there is a relation between high crime and the serving of alcohol past 2 o’clock,” Flaggs said. “We think this is something necessary so that we will be able to take our law enforcement and be able to protect the residential areas and commercial areas rather than trying to focus all our attention on the hot spots.”

Police Chief Walter Armstrong called the problems caused by bars and clubs remaining open under resort status “a very serious matter. The call volume has been extremely high.”

He said police looked at a six-month history of calls adding there were 158 calls during that period.

“And most of the time, when we are responding to those type calls, they’re because of a violent act,” he said.

To try and get the problems under control, he said, officers are being assigned to the businesses, which takes officers away from patrolling the rest of the city.

“So now we’ve got so many officers posted up at those areas instead of patrolling the entire city to prevent crime or to serve as a deterrent,” he said. He added people who were at the businesses that close at 2 a.m. move on to the businesses that are open all night.

“And when they get there, they’ve already consumed a large amount of alcohol, and they’re going there and getting involved in fights and other violent acts,” he said. “We believe by doing this we will be better able to keep the city safer.”