BENTONVILLE -- Officials from Benton and Washington counties said Wednesday they are pleased with the growth in sales tax receipts.
Brenda Guenther, Benton County comptroller, said the sales tax report the county received shows the latest monthly collections are 8.1 percent above the same month last year. Washington County receipts are up by 7.59 percent, said Bobby Hill, treasurer.
County sales tax revenue
Sales taxes are collected by local merchants and sent to the state Department of Finance and Administration in Little Rock. The state then remits the sales tax revenue to the counties. Sales tax revenue received by the counties in February represents taxes collected in December.
Source: Staff report
The Washington County figures are notable for two reasons, the large month-to-month increase when compared with the $546,070 received in February 2014, and the ongoing trend of increasing revenue, Hill said.
"We received $590,906," Hill said. "That is our best showing since October 2010, regardless of the month."
The report also continues a strong trend of monthly increases for the county, Hill said.
"We've had 11 straight months of increase, percentage-wise," he said. "So I would call that a trend."
Washington County budgeted for a 1.3 percent increase in sales tax revenue. The year-to-date increase is at 7.58 percent, Hill said. The Washington County Quorum Court historically has let budget projections stand throughout the year, he said.
"If we get more money coming in the Quorum Court may want to appropriate more money, but they typically don't," Hill said.
Benton County's report for February shows the county received $717,679, up from $663,891 in the same month last year. The monthly report for February 2014 showed a decrease from the prior year and started the county on a period of fluctuating revenue reports. Tom Allen, justice of the peace for District 4 and chairman of the Finance Committee, said he's hopeful the county has gotten past that period of uncertainty with each of the last five months showing an increase.
"I would say it's a good trend now," he said. "Five months of 7 percent or 8 percent increases is certainly a trend," Allen said.
The sales tax revenue report will be discussed by the Finance Committee, but he's not ready to commit the money to any specific need, Allen said.
"Our budget is pretty tight," he said. "If we know we're going to have some extra revenue we need to be smart about how we're going to use that money."
Barry Moehring, Benton County justice of the peace for District 15, said the county has several major projects already identified that will require additional money.
"I think our wish list has been filled," Moehring said. "There are three big issues that are going to be with us. The War Eagle Bridge is going to require some money, whatever we decide to do. The Bentonville West High School roads still need to be addressed. The new courthouse is going to be a big question mark as far as cost."
The county may need to earmark more money for new voting machines, but county action on that issue has to wait until decisions are made at the state level, Moehring said.
"I hesitate to say because we don't have a price tag for any of those," he said. "I suspect that at least some of what we're calling a surplus at this point will be needed for those issues."
NW News on 02/26/2015