Sales tax collections in Starkville are up nearly 10% compared to this time last year. Meanwhile, year-to-date collections in Columbus and West Point are down slightly.
So far this fiscal year, Starkville has collected $5,815,093 in sales tax revenue, marking a 9.92% increase from this time last year ($5,290,119). Columbus has collected $6,634,778.90 so far this fiscal year, compared to $6,654,353.51 this time last year. This marks a 0.29% decrease in year-to-date collections.
West Point has also seen a decline of .38% in YTD collections with $2,532,288.37 collected this fiscal year, compared to this time last year ($2,542,176.89).
The fiscal year for Starkville and Columbus begins Oct. 1. West Point’s fiscal year begins July 1, meaning it has only two months of collections left for this budget cycle.
Sales tax diversions run on a three-month window. Taxes are collected by retailers in the first month, sent to Mississippi Department of Revenue the next and then disbursed to cities and counties the third. Therefore, April reported collections reflect sales from February.
Columbus
This month, Columbus collected $884,100.20 in sales tax diversions, compared to last year’s $916,940.46, a 3.58% drop.
Currently, the city is on pace to miss its $11,800,000 budget projection for sales tax revenue by $426,093.
“I am concerned about the sales tax number because it looks like it softened a little … but we’re making it up in property taxes that we’re getting,” Chief Financial Officer Jim Brigham said. “So from an overall revenue perspective, we’re OK.
Brigham said sales and ad valorem (property) taxes are the two largest sources of revenue for the city. When one is suffering, the other can usually make up for it.
Brigham said he was unsure of why the sales tax number has softened, though he expects to make up the difference within the next few months.
“I think some may have something to do with the economy and people getting a little concerned about inflation. … I’m not quite sure what it is,” Brigham said. “I’m hoping that coming into the festival season … people will come into town and spend money and that sales tax will go up.”
The city’s 1% motel tax brought in $38,931.35, which marks a 30.71% increase from last year’s April collection of $29,782.80. Year-to-date collections are up 1.30% with $272,112.98 collected so far this fiscal year compared to this time last year ($268,620.50).
Columbus’ 2% restaurant and lounge tax collected $201,823.02, compared to last year’s April collection of $211,925.77. This marks a 4.76% decrease from this time last year. Year-to-date collections are up 1.37% with $1,449,869.15 collected so far this fiscal year compared to this time last year ($1,430,148.79).
Starkville
Starkville received $782,759 this month from sales tax diversions, compared to $703,668 in April 2024, marking an 11.23% increase.
Ward 2 Alderwoman Sandra Sistrunk, who chairs the city’s budget committee, said one reason for the jump in sales tax revenue is the Triangle Crossing Shopping Center on Highway 12, which includes Aldi, Marshalls, PetSmart and Ulta.
Until January, sales taxes collected at the shopping center were channeled into a Brownfield Mitigation Fund, Sistrunk said. Since that liability has been satisfied, that money is now being diverted to the city. Sistrunk also posed inflation and consumer behavior as possible explanations for the increase.
“In terms of the things that we know, we’re now receiving the diversion for the Triangle Crossing shopping center, and we believe that there’s an inflationary aspect to that number that’s just related to eggs costing $6 a dozen,” Sistrunk said. “Then there’s always consumer behavior. One just never knows about consumer behavior.”
Currently, Starkville’s sales tax is on pace to exceed the city’s projections in its fiscal year budget of $9.73 million by about $243,730.
The city also saw an increase in its restaurant sales tax diversions, which assist in funding for economic development and tourism, and its hotel sales tax diversions, which fund the Convention and Visitors Bureau as well as parks.
The city received $255,413 in restaurant sales tax collections, up 2.59% from April 2024 ($248,961). Year-to-date, collections are up 2.63% with $1,834,293 collected so far this fiscal year compared to this time last year ($1,787,268).
The city’s hotel tax brought in $148,162, compared to $140,661 in April 2024, marking a 5.33% increase. Collections are up 2.41% with $148,162 collected so far this fiscal year compared to last year ($140,661).
“We expect to see a little bit of growth in that every year, either because prices are going up or because people are shopping,” Sistrunk said. “Since Cornerstone has come about, we’re seeing more tournaments out there, and we’re seeing some increased growth.”
West Point
West Point received $243,080 this month in sales tax diversions, down 1.23% from April 2024 ($246,113.72).
The city’s recreation tax brought in $25,698.84 this month, marking a 9.47% decrease from April of last year ($28,390). So far this fiscal year, the recreation tax has totaled $314,121.09 compared to $304,255.91 this time last year, marking a 3.24% increase.
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