By Will Pafford, Staff Writer
Sales tax collected in West Lake Hills is down for the first time this year as compared to the same period in 2008.
West Lake Hills collected $163,085 in March 2009, compared to $196,884 collected in March 2008, according to the May 2009 sales tax report, which reports sales tax payments from March.
This is a 17.16 percent drop in sales tax as compared to last year.
In every other previous monthly report from this year, the city collected more sales tax than the same month of 2008.
The city has still collected more in sales tax year-to-date this year than in 2008. By May 2008, reports showed the city had collected $788,519 for that year.
So far this year the city has collected $826,270, 4.78 percent more than the same time last year.
City Administrator Robert Wood said he wasn’t sure what caused the first comparative dip in 2009.
“Between the closing of Albertsons, the opening of the new H-E-B, and the general decline in the economy, it has been difficult to forecast what is going to happen with sales tax revenue,” he said. “Just like everyone else, we hope that the economy will improve, and sales will get back to normal.”
Mayor Dave Claunch said he is also unsure about the cause of the decline.
“I see no clear reason why this happened,” he said.
Claunch said one month does not make a trend, however.
By the time the City Council is working on the budget for the 2010-to-2011 cycle, the city will have a better idea of what trend, if any, is in place, he said.
Sales tax is projected to account for about 52 percent of revenue in the general fund for this year’s budget, according to Wood.
“This just reinforces the importance of shopping locally,” Claunch said.