Sales Taxes continue to falter
The city of Wimberley continues to see little to no increase from sales tax allocations. For the month of July, which represents sales made in May, the city saw a 1.74 percent decrease compared to the same month last year.
Wimberley was one of only two cities within Hays County to see a dip in sales taxes for the month, along with the city of Hays. Nearly every other city within the county saw double-digit sales tax growth
Sales tax allocations are the city’s portion of sales tax, which is allocated by the state. The city of Wimberley receives 1 percent of all sales tax collected within the city limits. Since the city of Wimberley does not collect a property tax, sales tax allocations are the most significant portion of revenue for the city.
The July sales tax check was for $69,165.51, which is down a little over $1,200 from the same month last year. On the fiscal year, which starts in October and is used for the city’s budget, the city of Wimberley is down about $3,300. Sales tax allocations have increased in all 18 years the city has existed with the increase often being more than 10 percent growth each year.
The picture is a bit rosier when looking at the calendar year as the biggest decreases were seen in November and December of 2017. In 2018, the city is up a little less than $4,000, which represents at .71 percent increase on the year.
Woodcreek, on the other hand, has had a solid year of sales tax growth. The city of Woodcreek does not rely heavily on sales tax allocations as the large majority of the city’s funds come from a property tax, but sales in the city have been increasing. The July check for the city of Woodcreek is $4,190.48, up about $450 from the same month last year. That represents an 11.87 percent increase for the month. The city of Woodcreek has collected $29,959.03 on the calendar year, which is up 9.57 percent compared to the same seven months last year.
The Wimberley Library, which collects .5 percent of sales tax allocations within their jurisdiction, had a good month, but is also only seeing small gains on the year. For the month of July, the library received $46,722.47, which is up 5.67 percent compared to the same month last year. On the calendar year, the library has collected 1.61 percent more in sales tax allocations than the same seven months of 2017.
Hays County, which receives .5 percent of sales tax collected, has seen an incredible increase. For July, the county received $1,648,006.91 in sales tax allocations, which is up 16.3 percent. For the year, Hays County has collected 23.05 percent more sales tax than the same seven months last year.