Sales tax falls for 12th month in a row
For the twelfth month in the row, sales tax receipts for the City of Tulsa have dropped.
According to the preliminary report, sales tax collections from mid-January to mid-February totaled $14,916,708, an 11.6 percent decline from the same month last year.
Use taxes, which businesses and others pay on purchases of equipment from out-of-state vendors, were below budget estimates. The total was $997,427, down 31.4 percent from the same period last year and 25 percent below budget estimates.
“This continued decline further confirms our decision to reduce the general fund budget in order to have a balanced budget by the end of the fiscal year,” said Mayor Dewey Bartlett. “We are not yet seeing significant improvement in the local economy. So far, we are unable to determine if we have reached the bottom of this economic cycle. Our sales tax decline began in April, 2009, which was a decline of more than 5 percent from the previous year.
“Finding solutions to our financial situation by reviewing our core businesses is one approach that will steel the City against future economic declines. We continue to look for new ways of doing business. KPMG has arrived in Tulsa today to begin the planning stages of a strategic business review of City of Tulsa departments. It is still our goal to have the review completed by early summer.”
KPMG is conducting an external audit.
Since the decline in sales tax revenues began early last year, the current and past City administrations have reduced operating expenses in the general fund by about $27 million.
In the first nine months of the fiscal year, the city has collected $18.34 million less in sales taxes and $2.02 million less in use taxes compared to the previous year.
While federal, state and city governments are facing historic deficits, Tulsa County’s Expo Square is making a profit.
The Tulsa County Public Facilities Authority showed a profit of $100,710 for 2009. Early in 2009, officials had predicted a $1.7 million loss. In 2008, Expo Square lost $1.2 million.
“Going into the year, we knew we were facing a down economy,” said Tulsa County Commissioner Fred Perry. “So, we took steps to mitigate this as the year went on. The cost cutting and revenue raising steps paid off and now we’re coming off a profitable year with a leaner organization going forward,”
Expo Square CEO Mark Andrus supervised the financial turnaround in his first full year in that position.
“Many steps were taken to improve the outcome including reducing expenses by more than $1 million, reducing the number of full-time employees, and bringing in new events,” Andrus said. “Our staff worked very hard to make Expo Square profitable this year which happened even with poor weather during the fair.
“We maintained a great working relationship with Commissioner Perry, who helped identify business approaches to cut costs and increase revenues. We made some tough decisions like reducing staff, and it was encouraging to have Commissioner Perry there working alongside us.”
Perry said cutting jobs was not a popular task.
In 2008, Expo Square had 108 full-time employees and now it has 81 for an annual payroll savings of $841,000. Cuts have also been made in the use of golf carts, cell phones and radios, saving at least $100,000.
The fair board supervises the 240-acre fairgrounds and oversees the annual Tulsa State Fair. Expo Square has an impact of almost $150 million a year in the Tulsa metro area. Andrus said 50 new shows came to the fairgrounds in 2009.