Emporia’s January City sales tax report saw a slight increase over 2020 numbers, however, City Treasurer Janet Harouff says this is not a cause for celebration.
While revenues came in at $396,000, a $400 increase over January 2020, Harouff says the city is still on a decline from 2019’s total of $425,000, a near $30,000 difference. The January report reflects sales numbers from the month of November and Harouff says the city saw a dip in overall purchases city-wide during that time.
She says this is a concerning trend as November is typically the start of the peak holiday shopping season.
Harouff explains the city sales tax plays a key role in funding a variety of city services from both minor to critical.
According to Harouff if the city does not see an uptick in sales tax revenues in the coming months, city administration may have to start looking at necessary budget cuts across all sales tax-funded services.
The city will receive its next sales tax report in March which will reflect revenues from the month of December.
