According to the April report from the Oklahoma Tax Commission, the City of Bartlesville received $1,943,013 in sales tax collections and $412,645 in use tax collections for the most recent period, resulting in a 4.69 increase in sales tax and a 20.5 percent increase for use tax compared to the same period last year.
For the year, sales tax revenue is up about three-quarters of a percent and is currently about 1.76 percent above budget expectations, CFO/City Clerk/Treasurer Jason Muninger said this week. He said overall sales tax revenue for the year remains flat.
“Sales tax revenue for the year is about $19.5 million, which is up 0.74 percent over last year. This is about 1.76 percent above budget expectations,” Muninger said. “Use tax revenue, which is much more volatile, is $4,401,258, up about 8 percent over last year. Overall, though, our revenue remains relatively flat. We always budget very conservatively, so we are still in good shape as we head into the end of our fiscal year.”
The City’s fiscal year ends June 30.
More about the tax collections & funding
Sales and use tax collections lag approximately a month and a half behind.
“We receive a deposit around the eighth or ninth of the month, which is about a month and a half behind (sales), so when we’re looking at the April report, we’re seeing sales that occurred mostly in February,” he said.
Most sales (78 percent) and all use tax revenue go into the General Fund, which provides funding for most operations of the City of Bartlesville, of which police and fire are the largest.
“A lot of people think City operations are funded by property tax, but that is not the case,” Muninger said. “Municipalities in Oklahoma can only use property tax for debt service, so the only property tax we utilize is based on General Obligation bonds. Additionally, our utility services are self contained, meaning those departments are operated based on the rates and fees collected by each utility. So sales tax, which includes use tax, is used to fund everything else.”
For more information about the City’s budgets, see www.cityofbartlesville.org.