By Murray Bishoff, senior contributor/Special to the Cassville Democrat
The magic of the pandemic surge in sales tax seems to be wearing off, according to indicators in June receipts to bi-county towns and government bodies.
While receipts for the second quarter of 2023 show revenues kept growing over last year, every Barry County city except for Cassville took in less for the month than they did a year ago.
The seven Barry County cities collecting sales tax collected $803,829.60, down 11 percent from last June. It was the first countywide June revenue drop since 2017.
Cassville saw receipts from its 1 percent tax for paying general bills rise for the 12th consecutive month. The $115,255.37 received was up $5,348,16 from a year ago, the fourth consecutive June increase. That boosted the fiscal and calendar year sum to $629,155.51, up 7 percent from a year ago.
Seligman saw revenues from its 1 percent general fund tax drop for the third consecutive month, receiving $11,376.47, down $1,217.29, or 10 percent, from a year ago. For the year, Seligman has received $65,835.72 for paying general bills, a drop of 2 percent from 2022.
Washburn’s 1 percent tax took in $3,840.19 for its general fund, a drop of $26.23 from last June, the second month in a row for dipping revenues. For the year, Washburn’s receipts hold strong at $25,412.45, up 20 percent from a year ago, on top of the 50 percent rise last June from the opening of that town’s Dollar General store.
Receipts in Wheaton from its 1 percent sales tax have been in a tailspin, down for the seventh consecutive month. Wheaton’s general fund received $4,776.20, down $4,743.44 or half of last June’s sum. For 2023, Wheaton’s tax has generated $33,477.99, down 37 percent from a year ago.
Purdy’s 1 percent sales tax generated $3,258.15, down $2,691.57, or 45 percent, from a year ago. It was the lowest June sum since Purdy dropped to one sales tax for its general fund in 2010, but only the second drop in the last six months. That closed Purdy’s fiscal year at $73,074.01, the highest total since 2016 and up more than $4,500 from last year’s pace. For the first half of 2023, Purdy has received $33,463.82, up from a year ago by 6 percent.
Exeter’s 1 percent general fund tax brought in $1,723.59, a drop of $1,019.47 or 37 percent from last June. For the year, Exeter has received $10,748.03, down 20 percent from the first half of 2022.
Countywide sales taxes followed the lower municipal trend.
Monett’s cemented the decline as its two sales taxes totaling 1 percent to pay for general bills produced $216,011.37, a drop of $41,280.74 or 16 percent from a year ago. It was the third drop in four months. So far in 2023, Monett’s general fund has received $1,245,162.70 in sales tax. That’s up 9 percent from the same point a year ago.
Barry County’s two older .5 percent taxes for paying general bills and maintaining roads each received $227,394 in June, each down by $37,364 or 14 percent. That was only the second drop in six months, enabling those two taxes to each take in more than $1,320,300, up by 1 percent from a year ago.
Barry County’s separate tax going to the Emergency Services Board to pay for “911” and central dispatching yielded $170,545.58 for the month, a drop of $27,843.46, also a drop of 14 percent.
For the year, the tax has generated $990,130.19, up by .1 percent or more than $9,000 from a year ago.
