Friday, March 29, 2002
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Friday, March 29, 2002 |
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City's tax collections are on the upswing
By JOHN
THOMPSON
After September 11, many local governments were wondering about sales tax collections. Many governments, such as Fairburn, rely heavily on sales tax collections to fund local services. With people staying at home and glued to news coverage of the terrorist attacks, government leaders started getting nervous about a major source of revenue. During Monday night's Fairburn City Council meeting, auditor Dan Post told the city's leaders that things were not as bad as he expected. Post had estimated the sales tax collection might be off more than 10 percent because of Sept.11 and a slowing economy. But the latest figures show the tax collection was only off 7.5 percent. With many economists pointing towards an economic recovery, Post estimates the collections for the rest of the year will be in the 7.5 percent range. Still, the drop in sales tax dollars still will mean a budget shortfall for the city of more than $100,000 this year. "Where are we going to get that money?" questioned Councilman Harvey Melear. Post said this year's figures showed the Council had an $800,000 surplus. If the city does half as well this year, the $100,000 shortfall could be taken out of the surplus. "As long as we don't have to touch the reserves, I'm happy," Melear said. Post said the growth taking place in the city this year with new residential and commercial projects should help compensate for the loss of sales tax dollars.
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