The city of Rollingwood was hit with the second largest dip in sales tax revenue when compared with other cities in Travis County, according to data provided by the Texas Comptroller’s Office.

Compared with the same period in 2009, January through August, Rollingwood’s sales tax collections have fallen nearly 4 percent. The only city to take a bigger hit was Manor with a nearly 10.5 percent decrease. Austin saw a 4 percent increase for the same period and Bee Cave saw a 7.2 percent increase.

There was a glimmer of hope in Rollingwood’s collections for August. When compared with the same month last year, sales tax revenue is up almost 14 percent.

The city had projected flat sales tax revenues for the year when drafting the budget last fall, Mayor Bill Hamilton said, and this year, the city’s budget will likely reflect a projected 10 percent drop.

“We’re starting out with a conservative scenario and a tight budget,” Hamilton said, adding that if sales tax revenues turn around next fiscal year, the city will have a rainy day fund.

Amy Simmons, owner of Amy’s Ice Cream, said the company’s location in the Shops at Mira Vista shopping center has seen a slight dip this year in its revenue.

“Our sales are down slightly in the Mira Vista location but much less than I would have guessed,” Simmons said. “I’m kind of surprised that our dip was as small as it was.”

Simmons said that some businesses in the center have struggled and that Freebirds World Burrito left the center for a location outside of Rollingwood and McAlister’s Deli closed. The loss of those and similar businesses has hurt sales tax revenues and decreases traffic for other businesses in the center. The center is an important sales tax generator for the city.

Hamliton also agreed that the hit to restaurants in the city is affecting sales tax revenue.

“When times are tough economically, restaurants are one of the toughest markets,” he said.

Hamilton added that the city would take a focused look at businesses in the area in the coming months and at what the city can do to encourage economic development.

“We’re in a good location, and we need to make it as attractive as possible,” Hamilton said. “We also need to look at how we can keep our office buildings full because that will drive traffic to our businesses.”

While Rollingwood has seen a dip in sales tax revenue, West Lake Hills is virtually flat, with a 0.9 percent decrease in revenue.

The city had conservatively projected a 15 percent decrease for the year during last year’s budget discussions, so the city is in a good position this year, said Robert Wood, city administrator for West Lake Hills.

“We were pretty sure that was overly conservative,” Wood said. “But it’s better to have more money than you thought you would rather than the other way around.”

Wood attributed the relatively flat revenues to the stability of businesses in West Lake Hills.

“Unlike a lot of other cities in Travis County, we don’t have a lot of businesses that deal with discretionary spending.” Wood said. “Our [businesses] are mostly day-to-day type stuff. I think those business will tell you they have slowed down, but they haven’t seen the huge drop off that other places have seen.”

The other side of that coin is that during good economic times, the city doesn’t see large upswings either, Wood said.

“For us, it makes for a stable amount of money coming in each month,” Wood said.

Like Rollingwood, West Lake Hills also saw an upswing for August, 1.46 percent more than August of last year.

Wood said that the city is projecting flat sales tax revenue for the next fiscal year, which begins in October. The city will use these calculations as budget and property tax rate discussions continue.

Maya Pomroy, who opened Brilliant Sky Toys and Books in The Village at Westlake shopping center in June said that business has been steadily picking up this summer.

“We’re seeing steady growth, not as much as we’d like, but I’m very optimistic,” Pomroy said. “In this [economic] environment, you have adjust your expectations. I think this is just a testament to what we are seeing nationally.”

Pomroy and Simmons, who is a former West Lake Hills City Councilwoman, pointed out that shop local initiatives and efforts can help local businesses and keep sales taxes in the hands of local cities.

Pomroy said that while it is tough for local businesses to compete with big box stores, Austinites and Westbank residents have a strong commitment to shopping locally.

“Support your local businesses – it’s your community,” Simmons said.