West Memphis’s sales taxes up for 2020
City revenues still ' on track' despite impact of COVID- 19
news@theeveningtimes.com
West Memphis sales taxes remained up despite the restrictions on businesses during the spring coronavirus pandemic. City finance department accountant Tori Perry issued the numbers during the June Budget Commission Meeting. City department spending demonstrated restraint trough the end of May.
Sales tax for May amounted to $827,500 up 22 percent compared to May 2019 and up 9 percent year to date.
'Sales tax did not decrease like I thought it would,' said Perry. 'So we are still on track.'
The Governor's order to close Southland impacted city tax revenue through the March report. City receipts amounted to $547,000. Perry warned city council to expect Southland numbers to flat line.
That is only for March 1-18, because they closed after that,' said Perry. 'For June it will be zero, because they went out. In July we will see the period of May 15 to the end of the month. May and June revenue stood at stood at $2.4 million.
The city expected a boon from a Metropolitan Planning Organization payment to city coffers and took in an annual payment from the West Memphis School District for school resource officers.
'They had not been billed,' said Perry.
The tourism tax dropped 24 percent.
Police, fire, and sanitation departments had spending under control. Perry cautioned elected officials to watch the city utilities as it spent money to make improvements under an Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality sanction to improve drainage and sewer plant capacity.
