Carefree Truth

Issue #247, May 19, 2013

 

 

 

During the March 5th Council meeting, Mayor David Schwan explained that government must be run differently than business.  He spoke about the sales tax revenue, which accounts for approximately 50% of the Town's operational income, and said that as of the end of January, the latest available data, Fiscal Year (FY) 12/13 overall sales tax revenues were down by 8.71%, when compared with FY 11/12.  Although there are fewer restaurants and fewer retailers, that category has remained stable.  The shortfalls were in the other two categories.  Construction revenue was down 22.98%.  The third couldn't be discussed due to the privacy laws for personal tax returns in Arizona.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGVmUKTLBOM

 

 

 

 

During the April 2nd Council meeting, the Mayor updated the Council on the sales tax status.  As of the end of February, those revenues were down 9.38%, again due to the latter two categories.  He reassured everyone that this was not a crisis situation, that the budget had room to accommodate it.  On a positive note, at this time last year four houses were under construction; this year there are currently eleven, so that revenue will be arriving.     

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGVmUKTLBOM

 

 

 

 

During the May 7th Council meeting, Jim Keen, the Town Accountant, stated that the overall sales tax revenue is down 8% as of the end of March.  Councilman Arthur Gimson asked if the 8% is a continuation of the construction sales tax shortfall, and Mr. Keen confirmed that it is.  He noted that the retail and restaurant sales tax revenue has held steady and is approximately the same as it was the previous year.

 

 

 

Councilman Glenn Miller asked Gary Neiss to provide information on pending construction.  Mr. Neiss said there is a large amount of activity now in the construction sector.  8 permits were issued during this fiscal year for new homes, and 2 more are going through the process.  Also, a large quality luxury home builder has purchased a parcel that was previously platted but remained undeveloped due to the recession, and they are seeking additional parcels.  They plan to build approximately 75 homes.  The owner of a parcel zoned for multi-family housing recently submitted a replatt application, as they plan to make some slight changes to their product, and are ready to start their marketing.  

 

 

 

There will be a lot of activity in the near future, but the Town won't see the revenue for about 12-18 months, as the sales tax is collected at the time of the title transfer when the property is sold, rather than when a Certificate of Occupancy is issued.  That is how the Model City Tax Code is written.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqGwKes0RyQ

 

 

 

The latest Monthly Sales Tax Revenue Report has now been received from the State.  As of April 30th, the total sales tax revenues are down just over 7% for Fiscal Year 2012/13 compared to that time last year.  However there is a slight increase when comparing April 2013 to April 2012. 

 

 

Lyn Hitchon

 

 

 

 

Prepared by Carefree Truth

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