Columbus and Starkville are still poised to fall just shy of their projected sales tax revenue budgets more than halfway through Fiscal Year 2026.
Both cities’ budget cycles began Oct 1. Columbus is on pace to miss its $12 million projected budget by about $241,900, while Starkville is falling roughly $40,900 short of its $10.3 million projected budget.
West Point, whose fiscal year began July 1, is still on track to exceed its $2.9 million projected budget by more than $123,000.
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, April reported collections reflect sales from February.
Columbus
Columbus collected about $909,533 from general sales taxes this month, a 2.87% increase from April 2025 collections of $884,100. This marks a 5.49% increase compared to last month’s collections ($862,117).
So far this fiscal year, the city has collected $6,858,865 in sales tax collections, a 3.37% increase from this time last year ($6,634,778).
The city’s restaurant and lounge tax brought in about $229,663 this month, up 13.79% from April 2025 collections of $201,823. That is up 10.1% from last month’s collection of $208,578.
Year-to-date, restaurant sales tax are up by about 14.91%, with $1,666,152 collected so far this fiscal year, compared to this time last year ($1,449,869).
The city’s hotel/motel tax brought in about $34,547 this month, down 11.26% from April 2025 collections ($38,931). This also marks a 35.28% increase from March collections of $25,537.
So far this fiscal year, the city’s hotel/motel tax has brought in about $271,665, a 0.16% decrease from this time last year ($272,112).
Starkville
Starkville collected $789,144 this month, up 0.81% from April 2025 collections of $782,759 – a 5.89% increase from last month’s collections of $745,186.
So far this fiscal year, the city has collected $5,984,439 in sales tax revenue, a 2.91% increase from this time last year ($5,815,093).
Starkville saw an increase in month-to-month collections of both its restaurant sales tax diversions, which assist in funding for economic development and tourism, and its tourism sales tax, which funds the parks.
The city’s restaurant sales tax brought in $270,998 this month, a 6.1% increase from April 2025 collections of $255,413. This marks a 12.92% increase from March collections of $239,985.
Year-to-date, Starkville has collected $1,923,709 in restaurant sales tax revenue, marking a 4.87% increase from this time last year ($1,834,293).
Starkville’s tourism tax brought in $156,260 this month, a 5.46% increase from April 2025 collections of $148,162. This marks a 13.34% jump from March collections of $137,859.
Year-to-date, the city has collected $1,101,569 from tourism tax revenue, marking a 5.17% increase from this time last year ($1,047,329).
West Point
West Point’s sales tax collections brought in about $240,868 this month, a 5.43% increase from April 2025 collections of $228,447. This also marks a 2.26% increase from last month’s collection of $235,526.
So far this fiscal year, the city has collected about $2,519,187 in sales tax revenue, marking a 0.06% increase from this time last year ($2,517,654). At its current pace, West Point is on track to exceed its $2.9 million projected sales tax budget by about $123,000.
The city’s tourism tax brought in $28,544 this month, up 11.07% from April 2025 collections of $25,698 – a 7.06% increase from last month’s collection of $26,661.
Year-to-date, the city has collected about $327,187 from its tourism tax, a 4.15% increase from this time last year ($314,121).
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