Halfway through 2024, sales tax reports for Barry County show the local economy is generally holding even with one year ago.

While three smaller cities showed double-digit drops from the immediate post-pandemic sales totals, overall sales tax income rose from last June.

The six Barry County cities receiving sales tax generated $789,496.01, a drop of 2 percent from a year ago, not counting the four municipal use taxes. Only Seligman and Wheaton failed to top last June’s totals, both by small margins.

Cassville’s 1 percent general fund tax rose for the fifth time in six months, yielding a new June record of $118,095.83, up $2,840.46, or 2 percent, from a year ago. Cassville’s general fund tax has received $668,865.79, up 6 percent from 2023. Its use tax, which started last October, brought in another $161,235.79 this year.

Seligman’s 1 percent general fund tax received $10,828.06, down $548.41 from a year ago, topped only by the four pandemic years. For 2024, Seligman’s general fund tax has taken in $68,571.65, up 4 percent from a year ago. Seligman’s use tax has brought in $28,453.24 in the first half of 2024.

Wheaton’s erratic sales taxes balanced for a change, the 1 percent generating $4,325.87, down $450.39 from a year ago, and the .5 percent tax yielding $2,122.75. For the year, Wheaton’s 1 percent general fund tax produced $29,957.50, down 10 percent from 2023, while the .5 percent tax received $12,436.20, down 21 percent. Wheaton’s new use tax has produced $5,533.52 in three months.

Washburn’s 1 percent general fund tax made gains for the second month after two consecutive drops, bringing in $3,907.22, up $67.03 from last June. For the calendar year, Washburn’s tax has received $22,129.44, down 13 percent from the first half of 2023.

Exeter’s 1 percent general fund tax received $2,764.24, up $1,040.65 from last June. It was the fifth gain in six months for Exeter, putting the 2024 sum at $16,193.69, up 50 percent from a year ago.

Purdy closed its fiscal year receiving $7,850 from its 1 percent general fund tax. It was the second month in a row that receipts topped $7,000, which has not occurred since Purdy switched to a single tax supporting its general fund in 2010. That boosted Purdy’s fiscal year sum to $72,549.41, its third-highest total in 14 years. Purdy’s 2024 general fund total hit $37,074.41, up 8 percent from a year ago.

Monett, producing the most sales tax revenue of any bi-county city, saw its two sales taxes for its general fund receive $202,770.87 in June, down $13,240.50 from a year ago. That was the lowest June disbursement before the pandemic surge kicked in during 2020. That put Monett’s first quarter of its fiscal year sum at $576,136.85, close to the start of the 2021-2022 fiscal year.

For 2024, Monett’s general fund sum of $1,192,188.13 is down by 4 percent. However, Monett’s use tax, now in its 13th month, has brought in more than $423,000 in funds not there a year ago. The use tax seems to have drained totals going into the other taxes. The total for all Monett’s five active taxes and the use tax shows tax income is up 11 percent from mid-year 2023.

In contrast to the municipal trend, countywide taxes gained over last June, creating the overall gain.

Barry County’s two older taxes for the same purpose, collected at .625 percent, each received $232,775 in June, up more than $5,380. That put the two sales taxes funding general bills for 2024 at $1,671,687.90, up by more than $21,420, or 1 percent.

Barry County’s use tax yielded an additional $1,059,251.90 in six months, boosting funds for both general and law enforcement operations.

The separate .375 percent tax supporting central dispatching and 911 services produced $174,579.26 in June, up $4,033.68 from a year ago. For 2024, the total has reached $1,003,011.34, a gain of 1 percent.