According to the September sales tax report from the Oklahoma Tax Commission, sales tax collections made a solid showing for the period with a 4.3 percent increase over last year, while use tax had its best month ever with collections up 42 percent — the highest percentage increase in the tax’s three-year history.
Both sources of revenue for the City continue to be flat when compared to budget expectations, according to Chief Financial Officer/CityClerk/Treasurer Jason Muninger.
“Sales tax collections were up 4.3 percent, or about $86,000, which is still down 0.3 percent, or about $19,000, for the fiscal year. So it’s really flat, compared to last year’s collections,” Muninger said. “We do budget very conservatively, so for the year compared to budget we’re up about 4.3 percent, or $250,000.”
Use tax collections were up approximately 42 percent, or $162,000, for the period, he said.
“Use tax collections, which essentially is sales tax on Internet purchases, did better than it has since we began receiving the tax three years ago,” he said. “Use tax collections were up $162,000 for the period and compared to budget are up 16 percent, or about $184,000. So overall, it was a pretty good month.”
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 September report, we’re seeing sales that occurred mostly in July,” 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.