On The Edges--Ozark

by Dianne Rarick

Sales tax revenues in the city of Ozark were up 38.1 percent for the period, compared to the same period in 1997, according to Mayor Wade Terrell. Overall sales tax revenues year-to-date were up 14.7 percent vs. 1997. Terrell attributed the increase to a "well-diversified economy, increased marketing efforts on the part of local businesses and rapid growth within the city."

Ozark City Clerk Mary Lou Erhart reported that the total sales tax collected during August 1998 was greater than the city's collections for the entire year of 1985.

This year's new 1/4-cent sales tax for sewer treatment plant expansion added an additional $39,283 in tax revenue, bringing the total collected for the sewer treatment plant in 1998 to $142,635.

Erhart attributed the hefty increase to quarterly sales tax payments and increased tourist trade in the summer. Ozark is the county seat of Christian County, the fastest-growing county in the state and the seventh-fastest by percentage in the United States.