Tri-county area sees increase in sales tax collections in November

Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
·2 min read

Dec. 19—WATERTOWN — Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties each saw modest gains in local government sales tax collections on November compared to the same month a year ago.

Lewis County's revenues in November were up 10% over those realized in November 2022, while St. Lawrence County recorded an 8.8% gain and Jefferson County's receipts rose 4.7%, according to data released Tuesday by the state Comptroller's office.

For Lewis County, the percent increase represents $120,000 in additional revenue for the month, going from $1.21 million in November 2022 to $1.33 million this past November. St. Lawrence County saw an extra $480,000, from $5.52 million last November to $6 million in November 2023, while Jefferson County's receipts rose $350,000, from $7.58 million to $7.93 million.

For the first 11 months of 2023, each counties' sales tax collections are on about a par with collections over the same period in 2022. Jefferson County's receipts are up 3.5% year-over-year, from $91.28 million in 2022 to $94.44 million so far this year, an increase of $3.16 million. St. Lawrence County's are also up, by 2.2%, realizing $72.93 million in 2023 compared to $71.36 million last year, an increase of $1.57 million. Lewis County's year-over-year collections are off by less than 1%, down from $16.23 million in 2022 to $16.20 million this year, a drop of $30,000.

The city of Ogdensburg realized a 13% drop in collections in November compared to November 2022, from $200,000 a year ago to $170,000 this year, representing a $30,000 decrease. For the year, however, collections are 37.7%, or $510,000, from $1.37 million during the first 11 months of 2022 to $1.88 million this year.

Oswego County's collections were up 5.9% in November, from $4.47 million in 2022 to $4.73 million this past month, a rise of $260,000. For the year, receipts are up just over 2%, or $1.17 million, going from $54.99 million during January through November 2022 to $56.16 over the same period this year.

The city of Oswego saw its collections rise 66.3% in November over November 2022, from $960,000 a year ago to $1.6 million this year, an increase of $700,000. For the year, collections are up 17.2%, or $2.81 million, from $16.32 million in 2022 to $19.13 million so far this year.

Statewide, collections were up 5.1% in November, or $88.6 million, over November 2022, totaling $1.81 billion.