County Sales Tax Soars

Crawford County’s first quarter general revenue sales tax collection posted big December and first quarter gains.

From December through March, the county collected $402,194.98, an increase of 13.18 percent over this period in 2017.

General revenue collection was up each month. In December, the county collected nearly $111,000, up from $104,000 in December 2016.

January has typically been a slow month, but the county collected nearly $76,000, the highest level since January 2014.

February had a 3.7 percent increase from last year at $111,212.99. The county collected $600 more in February 2016.

March had the biggest gain of all — a 21.8 percent increase. A little more than $104,000 was collected, easily outgaining March 2017 totals of $85,398.66.

County voters passed a sales tax increase April 3 and collection begins on that in October. With 2018 off to a strong start and the county set to collect more revenue this fall, county officials will be hopeful the gains wipe away the debt.

LEO/CI Tax

The law enforcement and capital improvement taxes also posted increases.

These two taxes are separate and both brought in a little more than $355,000 from December through March. Through the same period in 2017, it stood at nearly $321,000.

In January, the revenue increased 13.6 percent — from roughly $55,000 to more than $62,000. A bigger increase — 15 percent — was recorded in February. The revenue was up $94,000 to $108,491.

An eight percent increase was posted in March, up from $77,384.18 to $84,084.51.