New sales tax record as economy bounces back

If the streets full of tourists weren’t enough of a sign, the most recent reports of how much sales tax has been collected within the city limits of Wimberley show that the economic recovery is in full force.

The allocation in May, which represents one percent of sales made within the Wimberley city limits during the month of March, set a record. The city collected $131,654.63, which is the most in a single month since the city first received sales tax allocations in 2001.

The previous record was set in February of this year, which represented sales made in December. In a typical year, the allocation collected in February is the highest for the city of Wimberley making the May allocation even more of an outlier.

“Naturally, with the city not having an ad valorem tax, it allows us to focus on some of our priorities like the parking structure on Oak Street,” Wimberley City Administrator Michael Boese said. “…It helps the city achieve some of those infrastructure goals.”

The May allocation is 38.8% higher than the $94,850.20 allocated in May of 2020. Early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, there were worries that the sales tax allocation in May of 2020 would be lower than previous years due to the business shutdowns that occurred that March. However, the allocation actually increased 14% in May of 2020 compared to May of 2019. This means that the increase in the May allocation from 2019 to 2021 is up more than 50 percent in just the last two years.

In the five months of the calendar year, the city of Wimberley has collected $446,021.29, which is 11% more than the same time frame last year.

Other local entities collecting a portion of the sales tax are also seeing increases. The city of Woodcreek, which collects one percent of the sales made within the city limits, saw a 25% increase this month to $7,857.45. Woodcreek has collected $30,225 on the calendar year, which is up 21.5%.

The Wimberley Village Library, which collects half a percent of sales tax within the Wimberley ISD jurisdiction, also collected a monthly record by pulling in $98,540.42, which was up nearly 43% from the same month last year.