'Welcome news.' Bartlesville sales tax revenue continues to climb
Sales tax revenue in the City of Bartlesville is continuing to increase, with August collections $174,000 more than the budgeted amount and 0.7% more than August 2021.
This comes after record-setting July collections of $1.88 million — $85,000 more than the anticipated collection and 2% higher than July 2021.
In fiscal year 2020-21, sales tax collections were 11.2% higher than budgeted and the increases have continued. The city’s sales tax collections have seen year-over-year increases for 15 of the last 16 months, with the exception of May, according to a city newsletter.
“We are comparing back to higher numbers now so the increases are going to be smaller, but we are continuing to see increases over last year, and that is always welcome news,” Bartlesville Chief Financial Officer Jason Muninger said in the newsletter.
Sales tax revenue comprises most of the city’s general fund, which is used for operations like personnel and city programs.
More:Bartlesville business is booming
February marked the city’s highest sales tax collections on record at more than $2 million.
Most Oklahoma municipalities are experiencing a similar upward trend. Excess collections from fiscal year 2021-22 were carried into the current fiscal year as a fund balance — funds kept available to balance the operating budget, the city said.
In recent months, Muninger has said it is hard to know why collections have been consistently increasing, but stimulus funds and inflation likely contribute.
“It’s impossible to say with any certainty why sales tax revenues go up or down for any given period of time, but it’s likely the fact that Bartlesville residents continued to shop locally despite the pandemic, including those who received and spent their federal stimulus funds with local retailers,” he said.
The consistently high sales tax collections made it difficult for city staff to plan for the current fiscal year budget. While preparing the budget, city staff relied on the fact collections would likely return to previous levels eventually and planned conservatively, Muninger said.
“We know this growth can’t last forever, so we’re moving forward in the budget process for fiscal year 2022-23 with that in mind,” he said. “As we prepare the proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year, we continue to plan conservatively to account for decreases that are likely coming. We could be surprised, of course, but we expect we will return to previous levels of ‘reasonable growth’ at some point in the future.”
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Bartlesville sales tax revenue climbing
