Revenue flatlining since 2016
The City, Parish and School Board received a total of $2,786,966 in sales tax during January according to the most recent report issued by the Natchitoches Tax Commission. The total represents the amount of taxes paid in December but collected in January. Of the total, the School Board received $1,559,307; the City received $999,572; and Parish Government received $228,087. The report shows tax collections by months and year-to-date. What the numbers show is that collections remain flat, or nearly the same, as they have been since 2016.
The City received $999,572 which is 1.56 percent, or $15,322 more than was spent in December of the previous year. The law enforcement tax collected was up by just over $3,000 over 2018. The tax supports some operations and salaries of the police and fire departments. Of note is that the collections for the City were down every month since the fiscal year began in June of 2018 except for July and December. The fact that collections were up by 1.56 percent in December can be compared to the month before, November, when collections were down a dramatic 14 percent over the previous year.
The School Board collections were up 3.16 percent over December of 2018, or $47,790. The salary enhancement tax that gives school board employees checks twice a year was up some $3,000 over December in 2018. The Parish received $228,087, up 7 percent or $15,004 more in December than it did in December of 2018. December collections in 2018 rose for the first time since 2016 when the Parish received $290,148 collected in December.