April sales tax revenues to Barry County dipped for the third time in four months.
With the biggest drop since December 2024 impacting more than half the municipal recipients, the sales tax disbursement reflected a general return to pre-pandemic normalcy instead of steady growth.
The seven Barry County cities collecting sales tax received $684,245.21, down 9 percent from a year ago. Cassville, Seligman and Exeter topped last April’s numbers to salvage the bottom line from an even bigger fall.
Cassville offered one of the brightest spots in the county for April. Its 1 percent general fund tax generated $105,119.29, up $3,686.04, the fourth gain in five months.
For the 2024 fiscal year, revenues are up by more than $12,700, after a gain of more than $31,000 between April of 2022 and 2023.
Seligman also forged a gain, as its 1 percent general fund sales tax took in $13,074.57, up $2,649.26 from a year earlier. It was Seligman’s third gain in four months, putting the 2024 total up nearly $700 over last April.
Purdy saw its second drop in four months, as its 1 percent sales tax paying general bills produced $5,327.61, down $1,6176.59, or 23 percent, from a year ago. For 2024, Purdy’s general fund receipts are down by more than $3,500.
Exeter saw its 1 percent sales tax receive $2,317.79, a gain of $357.53 over last April, the city’s third gain in four months. Exeter’s 2024 sum has topped the start of 2023 by more than $2,000, or 30 percent.
Washburn saw its 1 percent tax supporting its general fund dip for the third time in four months, taking in $3,477.74, down $763.39 from a year ago. For the year, Washburn’s receipts are down by more than $4,000, or 22 percent.
Wheaton’s 1 percent sales tax yielded $4,757.98, down $1,975.56, or 29 percent.
from last April. It was the second drop in four months for Wheaton, putting the 2024 sum down by nearly $2,000 over a year ago.
Wheaton’s halfcent tax is back to its old tricks, running at 42 percent of the onecent tax and running 11 percent below for 2024 what its sum should be if it generated half of the bigger tax.
Monett’s two sales taxes supporting the general fund at 1 percent generated $169,231.24, down $33,316.97, or 16 percent, from last April. For the first time, even Monett’s use tax, which appears to have triggered a steady drop in the city’s sales tax totals generally, did not offset the April decline.
Monett’s four active sales taxes plus the use tax generated $2,021.15 less in April than the four taxes without the use tax did a year ago.
So far in 2024, Monett’s general fund has received 6 percent less than in the start of 2023. Factoring in the use tax, the general fund sum is up by more than $235,000.
Looking at the countywide taxes, Barry County’s three .5 percent sales taxes each generated more than $206,100. The two older taxes for the general fund and maintaining roads each dropped by more than $10,208 over last April, the second drop in four months. The general fund tax total of 2024 is down nearly $13,000 from a year ago.
However, the combined total of Barry County’s four sales taxes with its use tax, compared to the same taxes collected last April without the use tax, showed a gain of more than $155,000 for April alone.
For 2024, current taxes with the use tax have collected nearly $684,000 more than the same taxes generated without the use tax in 2023.
Barry County’s .375 percent tax paying for E9-1-1 central dispatching brought in $155,070.23, down $7,665.92 for the month. That put the 2024 sum down nearly $10,000 from the start of 2023.
