From Black Friday sales and the lead-up to Christmas, the city of Tulsa saw gains in sales-tax revenue, which means more money in the budget for employee pay and funding going toward a police academy.
The January sales-tax check from the Oklahoma Tax Commission totaled $20.2 million for the period of mid-November to mid-December, city officials announced Monday.
The January check is up 1.2 percent from the same period a year ago and 0.9 percent above budget estimates, according to a news releasefrom the city.
Since the beginning of the fiscal year July 1, the city’s sales-tax revenue has topped budget estimates by 3 percent and is 2.2 percent above last year’s receipts.
“Tulsa’s economy is showing strength, given that despite a reduction in sales-tax rate, this month’s collections show an increase compared to one year ago,” Mayor Dewey Bartlett said in a statement.
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Beginning in July, the city’s sales-tax rate decreased from 3.167 percent to 3.1 percent.
Revenue from use taxes, meanwhile, went down in January. Those taxes represent a tenth of the revenue as the sales tax.
The January check for use taxes, which cover taxes for Internet purchases, came in at $2.08 million, down 0.6 percent from the same period a year ago and 6.1 percent below budget estimates.
So far this fiscal year, use-tax revenue totals about $14 million, and the sales tax accounts for $137.6 million.
Use-tax revenue so far this fiscal year is 1.9 percent above last year and is 1.7 percent above budget estimates, despite the below-expectations January check.
In preparing the 2015 fiscal year budget, which included layoffs and cuts, city leaders took a conservative approach. In doing so, city councilors also listed priorities for any revenues above budget.
The priorities first go to performance-based pay increases to all city employees, then toward funding a police academy and finally to restore health-care subsidies for retired employees younger than 65.
