Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the County Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Fremont County finance officer reports early 2025 sales‑tax receipts below 2024, officials say trend not yet definitive
Summary
Budget and Finance Officer Sean Sutton reported January retail sales tax collections of $650,653, down $34,561 from January 2024 and behind the 2025 budget by $49,347. Commissioners and staff said seasonal patterns and quarterly lodging tax timing make it too early to read a full trend.
County Budget and Finance Officer Sean Sutton gave the board an early 2025 sales and use tax update, telling commissioners that January retail sales tax collections totaled $650,653 — $34,561 less than January 2024 and $49,347 below the county’s adopted 2025 budget baseline.
Sutton also reported auto‑use sales tax and lodging tax figures. Auto‑use sales tax for January was $110,659, down $34,745 from 2024; combined January and February auto‑use collections were $212,554 year‑to‑date, $30,189 less than the same period in 2024 but slightly ahead of budget by $54. The lodging tax year‑to‑date collections were small in the off‑season (monthly reporting is quarterly for lodging) and therefore behind budget near the start of the year.
Sutton and commissioners emphasized that a single month’s numbers are not determinative and reiterated that the county budgets conservatively and tracks receipts over the course of the year. “While we start off a little bit slow, this is pretty normal for Fremont County,” Sutton said, noting seasonal visitor patterns to the Royal Gorge as temperatures warm.
Commissioners also discussed long‑term trends and cautioned against overreacting to one month’s decline. One commissioner observed the steady growth of prior years may be flattening and that the county’s conservative budgeting approach is designed to absorb such variability.
Ending: County staff will continue to monitor collections throughout 2025 and report to the board as additional monthly and quarterly data become available.
