Monthly sales tax collections in Columbus and Starkville saw an average 1% drop compared with May 2022, while West Point was up 11% over the same month last year.
Columbus received $993,884 from the Mississippi Department of Revenue, down $14,641 from May 2022.
The city has so far received $6,707,640 this fiscal year, compared to $6,258,333 in 2022, marking a 6.8% increase.
Sales tax diversions run on a three-month window, in which they are collected by retailers one month, sent to MDOR the next and then disbursed to cities and counties the third. Therefore, April diversions generally reflect sales from February.
Columbus
Chief Financial Officer James Brigham the city has been averaging a $500,000 jump in front of its previous year’s collections, and he expects to make the city’s $11 million budget by Sept. 30, when its current fiscal year ends.
“I keep an eye on it,” Brigham said. “It’s not so much of a (decrease) that I am concerned, we are still well above prior years before last year, so i think we are still in good shape there.”
The city’s 2% tourism tax, which helps to fund the Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau, recreation for the county and city and economic development purposes for the Golden Triangle Development LINK, showed growth this month, bringing in $218,218, compared to $199,980 in May 2022. The city has collected $1,460,880 this fiscal year, compared to $1,237,312 in 2022.
The 2% hotel/motel tax, which funds Trotter Convention Center, brought in $45,499, compared to $29,530 in April 2022. Fiscal year to date, the tax has brought in $227,117 compared to $200,727 this time last year.
Starkville
Starkville received $779,655 in diversions this month, compared to $785,959 in May 2022, showing a 0.8% decline.
So far this fiscal year, the city has collected $5,204,384, compared to $5,070,260 by this time last year, marking a 2.6% improvement.
Mayor Lynn Spruill told The Dispatch the sales tax diversions are trending upward as compared to last year but are not currently meeting the city’s budget goal. The city budgeted $8.6 million in sales tax revenue for the fiscal year, which Spruill still expects the city to collect.
“We projected a fairly optimistic growth as opposed to a more conservative trajectory. That has not yet been met,” Spruill said in a written statement. “We are still hopeful that we can at least meet that goal as we still have another two months of reporting from MSU school year activities yet to be accounted for. On the other hand, the (tourism) sales tax is booming and outpacing our projections. We are optimistic that this will continue and perhaps to a degree offset the sales tax expectations.”
According to figures released with its sales tax numbers, the city has continued to see growth in its 3% restaurant sales tax diversions and its 1% hotel tax as compared to last year.
The city has received $387,408 in restaurant tax collections, which assist in funding for economic development and tourism as well as sports facilities, a 7% improvement from May 2022, which saw $361,017. The city collected $2,588,066 so far this fiscal year, compared to $2,359,421 in 2022.
The city’s 1% hotel tax, which funds sports facilities, brought in $23,222, compared to $17,496 in May 2022, marking a 28% increase. So far this fiscal year, the city has collected $139,263, marking a 16% improvement from this time last year ($118,108).
West Point
West Point received $260,402 in sales tax diversions from MDR this month, compared to $232,319 in May 2022.
The city has collected $2,375,428 so far this year, compared to $2,207,602 this time last year, marking a 7.3% improvement.
It also marks the seventh straight month the city has exceeded its 2021-22 fiscal year collections, following a slow start to the fiscal year.
Mayor Rod Bobo did not respond to calls and messages made by The Dispatch by press time.
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