The December sales tax report shows this month’s collection is the largest December on record, Chief Financial Officer/City Clerk Jason Muninger said this week. The City collected $1.9 million in revenue for the period, which is 7.3 percent over collections for the same period last year.
“We collected $132,000 more than last year’s December, which has resulted in the largest December collection on record,” Muninger said. “Year to date, we’re $325,000 over what was collected last year for the six collections so far, and $884,000 over the anticipated budget for this point in the fiscal year.”
With only a couple of exceptions, City sales tax collections have shown increases over the past two years, many times with record highs.
“No one can say for sure why sales tax revenue fluctuates over or below one period over another, but obvious factors are inflation and local shopping,” Muninger said.
He said that as a rule, the City “budgets conservatively, and spends conservatively,” which also accounts for the increases.
“We have always budgeted conservatively to help ensure that we are spending within our means, so that has benefited us greatly and makes it much easier going into the new budget year,” Muninger said. “But people continuing to shop locally is likely the biggest contributor to these revenue increases. There is nothing more vital to a municipality than people shopping, dining and otherwise spending money at home. This is what allows us to generate the revenue needed to provide services and continue to operate City services in the most effective, efficient way possible.”