Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the County Finance Sales Tax topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Fremont County reports lower retail sales-tax collections through March; auto-use and lodging mixed
Summary
County finance officer told commissioners retail sales tax and sheriff-related collections are down year over year through March 2025 while auto-use and lodging collections show mixed results; county leaders said the budget was built conservatively and will be monitored.
Fremont County budget and finance officer Sean Sutton told the Board of County Commissioners that retail sales-tax collections for February 2025 totaled $574,848 — $91,533 less than February 2024 — and year-to-date collections were $1,225,501, or $126,094 below the same period last year.
Sutton said the retail-sales portion of the county budget is $8,400,000 and that year-to-date figures leave the county tracking about $174,499 behind its monthly pro rata budget. He and commissioners repeatedly emphasized that the county budgeted conservatively and expects seasonal increases in the warmer months to narrow shortfalls.
"Nothing to be completely alarmed about on the 2 negative numbers there on the bottom right just because of how we do budget and how we have ... budgeted to the conservative amount to begin with," a commissioner remarked during discussion of the report.
Sutton said March auto-use sales tax totaled $114,005 — which he reported as $2,587 more than 2024 — and that year-to-date auto-use receipts were $326,559, $27,602 below the prior year but ahead of budget by $7,809. The lodging-reporting line showed February collections of $9,050, $8,945 more than February 2024, with year-to-date lodging collections of $10,470, up $8,101 from last year but behind the pro rata budget by $46,197.
The sheriff's retail- and auto-use collections were reported separately. Sheriff retail collections for February 2025 were $383,232, $61,022 less than February 2024, with year-to-date sheriff retail collections at $817,000, $84,063 below 2024 and tracking about $174,667 behind budget. Sheriff auto-use for March 2025 was reported at $76,004; the presenter stated that this figure was $17.25 more than 2024.
Commissioners praised Sutton and county department heads for preparing the board in advance. "The sky is not falling, we are prepared for it," Commissioner Bell said, noting prior briefings and conservative budgeting.
County Clerk Grantham told the board that motor-vehicle fees, sales tax and recording fees collected in March totaled $1,433,735.24 and that the county's share for disbursement was $758,844.47, about $14,825.81 more than last March. Grantham cautioned that the clerk's office collects for municipalities and special districts and that the county retains only a portion after required distributions.
The county said it will continue to monitor collections and reassess during the summer revenue months when retail activity typically increases.
