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Pryor Creek mayor reports near-$1 million month, urges caution and reserve-building
Summary
Mayor (S3) told the council sales-tax receipts are trending up (monthly receipts near $996,229), recommended growing reserves and floated exploring an occupational tax for marijuana-related businesses as a potential revenue source.
Mayor (S3) told the Pryor Creek City Council on Oct. 14 that monthly gross receipts were approaching $1 million and that recent revenues were above the city’s historical average. “Anything close to a million is a great number for us,” he said, adding the month registered about $20,005.12 over the average and cited a figure of $996,229 for recent receipts.
The mayor framed the numbers as evidence the city is trending in the right direction but warned that the apparent gains do not eliminate the need for fiscal prudence. He said past practice—paying large annual bills all at once—created seasonal deficits and that splitting payments quarterly has improved year-start optics. “We still need to be cautious and prudent with what we do,” he said.
Councilmembers and the mayor discussed a September anomaly in the data, attributing it to vendors placing orders before arriving for the Rocklahoma event and having items shipped from other jurisdictions, which would reduce locally reported sales tax for that month. The mayor also outlined multi-year rolling averages showing growth: roughly $775,000 monthly (2019–20 average) rising toward a current rolling figure near $975,000.
As part of longer-term planning, the mayor said he has circulated an ordinance proposal to councilmembers for consideration of an annual occupational tax on marijuana growers, processors or distributors (an employer/occupational-style levy rather than a retail sales tax) as a possible revenue stream. He presented the idea for council feedback rather than as a finalized proposal.
The mayor urged short-term measures to support downtown businesses—promoting an upcoming small-business shopping day and partnering with Main Street, the Chamber and EDTA—and emphasized cautious hiring. When asked about restoring library hours, councilmembers said staffing and payroll limits mean any increase in hours or services must be deliberate. The mayor noted a need to fill a court-clerk position and underscored hiring the right candidates rather than hiring quickly.
The next procedural step is for council to consider any formal ordinances or budget amendments if it decides to pursue new revenue measures; no action on taxation was taken at the Oct. 14 meeting.
