Sales tax totals look more promising

For the second month in a row, sales tax revenue collected by the city of Monett has shown an increase in December after nine months of revenue declines.

Sales tax income was up for seven of 11 bi-county cities for the month, indicating improvement over the year's trend. Most cities and counties ended the year with a drop in sales tax income between 3 and 9 percent.

Three of Monett's four sales taxes showed an increase in revenue in December. The combined total was up by a modest $520. Monett's two taxes for general expenses ended 2009 at $1,683,542.54, a drop of 9 percent from 2008.

Pierce City's sales taxes posted a gain after three consecutive months of declining income. The city's three tax brought in $2,000 more than last December.

Pierce City's general fund tax generated $67,375.46 in 2009, a drop of 15 percent from 2008.

Two of Verona's three sales taxes posted gains in December, besting the total from last December by a little over $800. The rise was the first recorded in Verona since September.

Verona's one-cent tax for the city's general fund yielded $30,719.35 in 2009, which was 11 percent under the previous year.

Total sales tax income coming into the bi-county cities and counties in December, not counting the Barry County 911 service, came to $1,432,454.55, a difference of a little over $5,000 compared to a year ago.

Revenues to all the bi-county towns combined in December were almost even with a year ago. The seven Barry County cities collecting sales tax revenue pulled in $434,394.67, around $1,000 less than a year ago. Monett, Purdy and Seligman were the only towns to best last December's totals.

The six Lawrence County cities getting sales tax income received $351,725.36, a gain of nearly $5,000 or 1 percent from a year ago. Only Mt. Vernon did not best last December's total.

Totals from sales taxes going into the general fund remaining for other bi-county cities for 2009 are listed below with a comparison to 2008 in parentheses.

* Aurora $999,028.56 (-3 percent);

* Cassville $816,764.77 (-2 percent);

* Exeter $21,529.95 (-9 percent)

* Marionville $133,756.42 (-8 percent);

* Miller $68,743.35 (+5 percent);

* Mt. Vernon $488,463.13 (-7 percent);

* Seligman $86,183.05 (+8 percent);

* Washburn $21,501.90 (-13 percent);

* Wheaton $64,800.27 (-11 percent).

Lawrence County's three half-cent sales taxes posted a gain in December, the first since May. The combined total was $4,422 better than a year ago.

For the year, Lawrence County's tax to pay general expenses generated $1,201,494.91, a drop of 8 percent from 2008.

Barry County's two half-cent sales taxes recorded its 13th consecutive month of lower revenue. In December the two taxes produced $11,374.62 less than a year ago.

Barry County's tax for general bills yielded $1,732,006.11 in 2009, down 9 percent from the previous year.

The eighth-of-a-cent sales tax collected in Barry County to support its 911 service brought in $75,745.80 in December. The drop in income around $4,000 was similar to the previous two months.

The 911 tax produced $446,734.93 in 2009, a drop of $44,000 or 9 percent from the previous year.