Sales tax revenue for July was up in area cities, with Bentonville having the greatest increase compared with the same period last year.
Sales tax revenue delivered in July reflects May tax collected in June.
By The Numbers
Tax Revenue
City*July 2012July 2013PercentageYTD 2012YTD 2013
Bentonville*$751,885$816,976+8.6$4,829,167$5,418,690
Fayetteville*1,444,986$1,505,136+4.2$10,022,10310,432,750
Rogers*$1,099,085$1,177,850+7.2$7,531,757$8,564,761
Springdale*$866,858$907,096+4.6$5,891,911$6,034,472
Bella Vista*$106,416$118,233+11.1$739,753$777,957
Lowell*$208,704$295,047+41.4$1,320,840$1,439,887
Siloam Springs*$231,162$240,822+4.2$1,694,424$1,648,411
Source: Staff Report
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 of the tax 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.
Bentonville received $816,976 this month compared to $751,885 a year ago, an increase of $65,090 or 8.66 percent.
It’s difficult to predict sales tax revenue in Bentonville, said Denise Land, city finance director.
“We’re having a good year. Last year was a good year, and we are ahead of last year. We budgeted for $720,000 a month; we’ve been averaging more than $800,000 a month. I have no complaints,” Land said.
Rogers’ sales tax has increased every month for more than 15 months, and July was no exception. The city received $1,177,850 compared with $1,099,085 for the same period last year, an increase of $78,765 or 7.2 percent.
“What can I say? We’re having a very good year; 2012 was a record year for the city in sales tax collections and we’re are ahead of last year at this point. All the cities were up. That’s good for the region and I hope it continues,” said Casey Wilhelm, Rogers chief financial officer.
Fayetteville’s sales tax revenue increased 4.2 percent over the previous year. The city received $1,505,136 in sales tax revenue compared with $1,444,986 last July, a $60,149 increase.
“We’ve been pretty flat for the past couple of months. It is good to see a 4 percent increase this month. We predicted it would be a 2 percent increase, so I’m happy with a 4 percent increase,” said Paul Becker, Fayetteville finance director. “We’re on target for an overall 4 percent increase for the year and will be better than what we budgeted for.”
Sales tax revenue in Springdale increased $40,238 this month compared to July 2012. The city received $907,096 compared with $866,858 in the same period last year, an 4.6 percent increase.
“I’m not going to complain about a 4.6 percent increase in sales tax,” said Wyman Morgan, director of administration and finance for Springdale. “We have a lot of city improvement projects under way, and I think those improvements will lead to a continuing increase in sales tax in the coming months and years.”