Sales tax income rallies in November

Three biggest cities outperform drops from smaller towns
 
 
Sales tax revenues to Lawrence County cities and county governments picked up in November after two months of marginal performance. The six cities collecting sales taxes saw income rise by 5 percent as four of the six towns recorded gains.
Mt. Vernon
Mt. Vernon’s 1 percent sales tax supporting the city’s general fund generated $89,829.41, the second best November on record, up $5,122.67 from a year ago. In 2020, November receipts did not even top $64,000. It was Mt. Vernon’s third gain in four months. Revenues from Mt. Vernon’s three sales taxes and its use tax for the year are up by more than $133,000 or 5 percent.
Aurora
Aurora’s 1 percent sales tax paying general bills produced $136,536.82 for the month, up $6,7995.73 from last November. It was Aurora’s fourth consecutive monthly gain. For the year, Aurora’s four sales taxes and its use tax have brought in almost $180,000 more than in the first 11 months of 2024, a gain of 4.5 percent.
Marionville
Marionville had its second gain in four months, though it was only enough to erase a third of the drop in October. The city’s 1 percent general fund tax yielded $19,616.49, up $2,015.01 from a year ago. Revenues from Marionville’s five sales taxes and its use tax in 2025 are still lagging more than $38,000 or 6 percent behind last year’s pace, even though income from the city’s use tax is up by nearly $25,000.

Pierce City
Pierce City barely edged ahead of last November’s total. The city’s two sales taxes collected at 1.125 percent for paying general bills brought in $9,637.24, up a mere $25.66 from last November. It was the third gain in six months. Income from Pierce City’s five sales taxes is down by nearly $18,000 for the year, a drop of more than 8 percent.
Miller
Miller’s two sales taxes at 1.5 percent delivered $12,474.41 into city coffers in November, a slight drop of $226.94 from a year ago. It was the third drop in five months. Revenues from the city’s five sales taxes are nonetheless up by more than $12,600 for the year or almost 7 percent.
Verona
Verona’s 1 percent sales tax for its general fund yielded $1,297.20 in November, a drop of $1,202.81 from last November, the fifth consecutive monthly decline. That dropped Verona’s income for the year from its four sales taxes by more than $20,000 from the 2024 pace, a dip of 26 percent.
Monett
Monett’s two sales taxes at 1 percent supporting its general fund generated $197,310.73 for the month, a drop of $2,360.37 from last November. Though it was the second drop in three months, the sum could not erase the five-figure gains in four of the past six months. Monett’s five sales taxes and its use tax in 2025 have brought in more than $6 million, up more than $306,000 or 5 percent from last year’s pace.

Countywide taxes
Countywide taxes supporting the Lawrence County government had enough buoyancy from the municipal showing to post solid gains. The county’s oldest .5 percent taxes supporting general operations and road maintenance each received more than $191,130, each, gaining more than $17,600 over last November, enough to erase all the red ink from September and October. With revenues up in three of the last six months, and use tax income up by more than 11 percent, income from the county’s five sales taxes and its use tax is up by almost $338,000, or more than 3 percent.
The separate .5 percent tax paying for central dispatching and 911 services took in $190,855.67 for the month, a gain of $18,746.76 or almost 11 percent. That put the 2025 sum over last year at this time by more than $29,000 or 1.5 percent.