Both Columbus and Starkville are on pace to fall just shy of their projected sales tax revenue budgets halfway through Fiscal Year 2026.
The cities’ budget cycles began Oct. 1. Starkville is on pace to miss its $10.3 million projected budget by about $235,332, while Columbus is falling more than $101,000 short of its $12 million projected budget.
Meanwhile West Point, whose fiscal year began July 1, is on track to exceed its $2.9 million projected budget by more than $500,000.
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, March reported collections reflect sales from January.
Columbus
Columbus collected about $862,117 from general sales taxes this month, a 2.67% increase from March 2025 collections of $839,658. This marks a 19.23% decrease compared to last month’s collections ($1,067,459).
So far this fiscal year, the city has collected $5,949,332 in sales tax collections, marking a 3.45% increase from this time last year ($5,750,678).
The city’s restaurant and lounge tax brought in about $208,578 this month, up 6.13% from March 2025 collections of $196,522. This marks a 37.9% decrease from last month’s collection of $335,984.
Year-to-date, restaurant sales tax are up by about 15.09%, with $1,436,489 collected so far this fiscal year, compared to this time last year ($1,248,046).
The city’s hotel/motel tax brought in about $25,537 this month, down 19.78% from March 2025 collections ($31,834). This also marks a 5.62% decrease from February’s collections of $27,058.
So far this fiscal year, the city’s hotel/motel tax has brought in about $237,118, a 1.68% increase from this time last year ($233,181).
Starkville
Starkville collected $745,186 this month, up 2.58% from March 2025 collections of $726,393. This marks a 16.32% decrease from last month’s collections of $890,612.
So far this fiscal year, the city has collected $5,195,295 in sales tax revenue, a 3.23% increase from this time last year ($5,032,334).
Starkville saw a drop in month-to-month collections of its restaurant sales tax diversions, which assist in funding for economic development and tourism, and a slight increase in its tourism sales tax, which funds the parks.
The city’s restaurant sales tax brought in $239,985 this month, a 1.59% decrease from March 2025 collections of $243,867. This marks a 1.96% increase from February collections of $235,357.
Year-to-date, Starkville has collected $1,652,710 in restaurant sales tax revenue, marking a 4.67% increase from this time last year ($1,578,881).
Starkville’s tourism tax brought in $137,859 this month, a 1.02% increase from March 2025 collections of $136,463. This marks a 5.6% drop from February collections of $130,543.
Year-to-date, the city has collected $945,309 from tourism tax revenue, marking a 5.13% increase from this time last year ($899,167).
West Point
West Point’s sales tax collections brought in about $235,526 this month, a 5.53% increase from March 2025 collections of $223,173. This also marks a 13.78% decrease from last month’s collection of $273,171.
So far this fiscal year, the city has collected about $2,278,318 in sales tax revenue, marking a 0.47% decrease from this time last year ($2,289,207). At its current pace, West Point is on track to exceed its $2.9 million projected sales tax budget by about $517,477.
The city’s tourism tax brought in $26,661 this month, down 0.67% from March 2025 collections of $26,843.45. This also marks a 7.91% decrease from last month’s collection of $28,952.
Year-to-date, the city has collected about $298,643 from its tourism tax, a 3.54% increase from this time last year ($288,422).
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