Sales tax revenue drop less than feared
The comptroller adds that the numbers are improving every month, but what will happen in the fall is unknown
KINGSTON, N.Y. » The city’s sales tax revenue is down compared to last year, but the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have not been as bad as initially projected and Kingston’s financial picture continues to improve, city Comptroller John Tuey says.
“The overall estimated losses improved again,” Tuey told aldermen Wednesday, Sept. 9, during a virtual meeting of the Common Council’s Finance and Audit Committee. He said the city’s sales tax reports show gradual improvement from month to month and that the most recent revenue check was down “just” 7.4 percent over the previous year.
The sales tax revenue check the city received on Aug. 24 was down 4.31 percent from the previous year, while the check on Aug. 18 was down 11.87 percent, Tuey said.
Overall, the city’s share of sales tax revenues is down 7.73 percent compared to this time last year, Tuey said. He said he expects the city’s sales tax revenue loss for the entire year to be between $678,192 on the low side and $2,094,526 on the high side.
Those numbers are subject to change, though, as the city receives new data, Tuey said.
Earlier this year, Tuey had projected the city could lose between $2,253,415 and $3,266,051 in sales tax revenues for 2020 as a result of the pandemic.
Overall, Tuey had projected the city could lose anywhere from $4,073,538 on the low end to $6,517,129 on the high end in rev
enues.
Tuey’s latest figures project the city to lose between $2,233,272 and $4,888,479 in overall revenues for the current year. The lowloss estimate would leave the city with $6,584,741, or 14.81 percent, in unassigned fund balance, while the high-end loss would leave the city with $3,929,534, or 8.84 percent in unassigned fund balance. Those numbers are expected to change based on the city’s spending and savings over the remainder of the year.
“Once again, we’re trying to be conservative here,” Tuey said of the sales tax numbers. “Those numbers improve every month. We don’t know what’s going to happen this fall.” He said the COVID-19 situation could continue to affect businesses and outdoor
dining could stop due to the weather.
Tuey said the city meanwhile is “holding the line” on spending in its general fund budget. He said the only potential negatives are the settling of retirement accumulation accounts, which would come from the city’s contingency fund, as well as settling an employee contract and expenses related to COVID-19. He said the city hopes to get some of the coronavirus expenses reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
In other revenue areas, Tuey said the city’s property tax collections have been up and the city is projecting a smaller revenue loss there. The city is also still waiting to hear from the state about cuts to state aid, he said. Tuey said he expects to hear more about the state aid later this month, but the city is still projecting a 20 percent cut there.