Sales tax revenue to the bi-county area continued strong in February.
Historically, February has represented one of the smallest disbursements of the year, but for the past two years, February has out-performed January for local cities and the county government entities. This year, February receipts rose for the third consecutive year.
The Department of Revenue also distributed interest collected during the second half of 2022. Those totals have been added into the following sums.
The DOR’s disbursement of interest in February proved to be a questionable financial decision in justifying the expense. Money gained through interest between disbursements from July through December 2022 on 28 different taxes, including use taxes, was wired to the seven Barry County cities, the county treasurer and the emergency services board. Each received a paper copy via mail for each tax, in addition to the expense of wiring funds to every recipient’s bank.
The total amount of interest disbursed to Barry County recipients came to $18.75, slightly more than the amount needed to cover postage, to say nothing of the cost to print all the letters and wire expenses. As many as 13 disbursements totaled less than 10 cents.
The last distribution of interest to the same Barry County recipients in August 2022 delivered more than $645.76 to the area.
The seven Barry County cities collecting sales tax took in $814,268.94, up 8 percent from last February. Seligman and Wheaton were the only cities to slip below sums from a year ago.
Cassville recorded its eighth consecutive monthly gain as its 1 percent sales tax for its general fund yielded $110,200.49, up $10,948.89 for a new February record. It was also a record start for the city’s new fiscal year at $211,202.27, up more than $14,000 from a year ago.
Seligman saw its third drop in four months, as its 1 percent tax for paying general bills received $11,582.27, down $1,064.48 from a year ago. Nearby Washburn, basking in the popularity of its Dollar General store addition, received $4,517.48, up $1,083.26 or nearly 32 percent from a year ago.
Exeter managed to hold steady as its 1 percent general fund tax delivered $2,113.67 into city coffers, up $69.32 from last February.
For the seventh consecutive month, Wheaton saw receipts from its 1 percent and .5 percent taxes more or less in balance, correcting an over-performance by the general fund tax that appeared on and off ever since the halfcent second tax started in 2013. General fund receipts were, however, down for the sixth time in nine months, yielding $5,719.79, down $1,801.48 from a year ago.
Monett’s two sales taxes for its general fund totaling 1 percent hit a new record for the month, bringing in $222,180.21, up $14,685.18 or 7 percent. After dropping in 2020, February receipts have risen three years in a row. Receipts to Monett have been up every month since October. That helped push the 11-month fiscal year total to $2,427,069.71, up more than $250,000 from a year ago, and up nearly $600,000 since 2020, before the COVID pandemic fueled local shopping.
As for the countywide taxes, Barry County’s two older half-cent taxes each pulled in more than $233,636, up by more than $19,217 each or a gain of 9 percent. Barry County’s three taxes so far in 2023 have seen gains of more than $50,000 over the start of 2022.
The separate sales tax going to support central dispatching and 911 services saw similar gains. Barry County’s .375 percent tax yielded $175,205.35, up $14,391.80 from a year ago. For 2023, revenues are up by more than $21,000.
