Sales tax revenue was in the black for Northwest Arkansas cities this month, with Bentonville leading the way with a 28 percent increase over last year.
Sales tax revenue delivered in January reflects November sales tax collected in December.
Comparisons are based on collection from the same month in the previous year. Each city, with the exception of Bella Vista, collects a 2 percent sales tax. One percent is devoted to repaying bonds. The other 1 percent goes into each city’s general fund and is available for operations. For the purpose of this report, NWA Media tracks the 1 percent going into general funds.
By The Numbers
Sales Tax Revenue
City January 2012 January 2013 Percentage Change YTD 2012 YTD 2013
Bentonville $606,201 $776,256 +28 $606,2016 $776,256
Rogers $1,039,980 $1,093,137 +5.1 $1,039,980 $1,093,137
Springdale $793,108 $840,460 +6 $793,108 $840,460
Fayetteville $1,367,131 $1,451,566 +6.2 $1,367,131 $1,451,566
Siloam Springs $234,307 $225,004 -4 $234,307 $450,005
Bella Vista $98,265 $103,915 +5.7 $98,265 $103,915
Lowell $162,221 $188,325 +16 $162,221 $188,325
Source: Staff Report
Bentonville received $776,256 this month compared with $606,201 for the same period last year, an increase of $170,055 or 28 percent.
“We are right on par with our budget,” said Bob McCaslin, Bentonville mayor. “We exceeded our sales tax budget for 2012 and think our budget projections for this year are on target as well. We have been very fortunate.”
Bentonville budgeted for $640,000 a month in sales tax revenue last year and never fell below that number.
Fayetteville sales tax increased by 6.2 percent, $84,435 higher the same period last year. The city received $1,451,566 this month compared with $1,367,131 last January.
“We’re starting out the year up 6.2 percent, which is great,” said Paul Becker, Fayetteville finance director. “We had a good year last year and expect this year to be better.”
Springdale’s sales tax revenue increased by $47,352 this month compared with the same period last year, an increase of 6 percent. The city received $840,460 this month compared with $793,108 last year.
“It’s good to start the year ahead of the previous year,” said Wyman Morgan, Springdale’s director of administration and financial services. “We were up 9 percent in 2012 over 2011 and we’re up this year over 2012. It appears some of the infrastructure we’ve built in the past few years is beginning to pay off.”
Rogers, for the ninth consecutive month, collected more than $1 million in sales tax revenue.
Rogers collected $1,093,137 compared with $1,039,980 last January, an increase of $53,157 or 5.1 percent.
“Last year we had the highest amount of sales tax we’ve ever had, making 2012 a good year,” said Richard McComas, treasurer and chief financial officer for Rogers. “Being up this month and continuing to collect $1 million each month indicates our local economy is still growing. Our sales tax revenue has been steadily increasing for the past 2 1/2 years, I expect 2013 to continue that trend.”