ROME: Sales tax revenue totaled $33.845 million through July of this year among the four largest cities in Northwest Arkansas, up 8.4% over the $31.22 million reported in the same period last year.
City officials in Bentonville, Fayettteville, Rogers and Springdale are all pleased with the year-to-date results though revenue has varied month-to-month. Each of their finance directors say their respective city’s revenue to date is still tracking above the budgeted levels and up between 6% and 12% over a year ago among the four cities.
That said, sales tax revenue in July was up just slightly (0.88%) at $4.979 million among Northwest Arkansas’ four largest cities. A year ago the four cities reported a combined $4.936 million. The July sales tax is a result of a 2% local tax on goods and services sold in May. Each of the cities in this report uses half of that revenue for debt retirement and the other half is funneled into the city’s annual budget. This report tracks the later.
Bentonville, the smallest of the four cities has the most volatile collections month-to-month, but throughout the first seven months of 2015 sales tax revenue is up nearly $500,000 or 8.6% more than the same period of 2014.
Mayor Bob McCaslin expects a busy summer for visitors in his city, led in part from the unveiling of the Amazeum children’s discovery center which officially opened July 15. He expects the $24 million children’s museum will host 160,000 visitors this year. Crowds on opening day exceeded 2,000 and some 1,600 members got their first look at the interactive museum on July 13 in a sneak peek event.
