February sales tax collections hit in excess of $2 million — the highest on record — which is up 13.2 percent over the same period last year, Chief Financial Officer and City Clerk Jason Muninger said Monday.
“Our February collection is our highest sales tax collection on record,” Muninger said. “We received $2,023,893, which is up 13.2 percent from our prior February, which is around $236,000 over our previous year’s collection.”
Muninger said collections are up 13.8 percent for the fiscal year so far.
“Currently, we’re up 13.8 percent higher than last year’s collection through the first eight months of the fiscal year, and we are 14.2 above our budget year’s anticipation, which is about $1.9 million over what we had anticipated.”
The increase continues an upward trend for returns over the past year, and in particular the last eight months.
“We’ve had above-average returns for about the past year, consistently hitting $1.8 million to $1.9 million in collections each month,” Muninger said. “I’ve looked at the data going back to 2015 and every month we’ve had this fiscal year has out-paced every month during that time.”
He said the February report is the second of two that represent holiday sales.
“The January and February reports reflect holiday sales, which are typically our two largest months,” he said. “With January up 15.7 percent over the previous year, these totals combined are proof that Bartlesville experienced a very productive shopping season.”
Muninger said the increases are likely due to an influx of federal and tribal stimulus funds, inflation and more people shopping in Bartlesville.
“It really does make a difference,” he said. “And it is certainly an indication of our strong and ever-growing retail presence.”
Muninger said officials acknowledge the trend will have to end eventually.
“We know a correction will occur at some point — we just don’t know when,” he said, noting the increases will likely make budget projections for next year “one of the most challenging years yet.”
“It would be nice to continue at this pace indefinitely, but we know that’s not possible,” he said. “So we will continue to show fiscal restraint in our projections for Fiscal Year 2022-23.”