Sales tax revenue for February is up 4.6 percent over the same period last year, Chief Financial Officer/City Clerk Jason Muninger said this week.
Muninger said the recent collection was $2,118,146, which is $94,000 over February 2022 and $196,000, or about 10.2 percent, more than was budgeted for the period.
“It’s difficult to say what factors directly impact these increases, but certainly an increase in shopping locally and inflation are two factors in play,” he said.
Muninger said that so far this fiscal year, which ends June 30, the City has collected $15,618,772, which is $1,154,676 over the anticipated budget for the year.
“We are outpacing last year’s budget by about 8 percent,” Muninger said.
The City budgets conservatively every fiscal year, so the over-budget increases are not as surprising as they might seem on the surface, Muninger said.
With only a couple of exceptions, City sales tax collections have shown increases over the past two years, many times with record highs.
The City’s use tax, approved by the City Council in 2021, was implemented Jan. 1. Revenue from that tax could start showing returns next month.
“We are looking forward to seeing the results of that collection as well, which should be available in March or April,” Muninger said.