City starts fiscal year with weak sales tax check

The city of Springfield is off to a rough start in fiscal 2017.

The Missouri Department of Revenue issued a 1 percent sales tax check for July of $3.98 million, down 12 percent compared to the the city’s start of $4.51 million in fiscal 2016, according to a news release.

The total also is 11 percent lower than the $4.48 million the city projected for the month.

City Finance Director Mary Mannix Decker said typically, when sales taxes come in under budget, the next month will be significantly higher.

“Generally, when there is such a significant decline in sales tax revenue, it is related to the Department of Revenue’s ability to process all of the sales tax returns before the deadline,” Decker said via email. “This is why we focus on year-to-date numbers rather than monthly.”

The July check represents sales processed by the state in June from transactions made mostly in May, according to the release.

Sales tax revenue funds core city services such as police and fire operations. In Springfield, roughly 60 percent of the city’s general fund revenue comes from sales and use taxes.