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Treasurer Sanson: February sales-tax receipts up; voluntary-tax collections lag
Summary
Treasurer Sanson told the Faulkner County Budget & Finance Committee that February sales-tax receipts were $1,500,186.56 (up 5.43% from 2025) and year-to-date are 5.19% higher, but he warned voluntary-tax collections are down slightly as a share of the tax base and will be revisited in July.
Treasurer Sanson reported the county's early-2026 financials to the Faulkner County Budget & Finance Committee, saying several fund balances and revenue charts are slightly above last year and that February sales-tax receipts totaled $1,500,186.56, a 5.43% increase from February 2025 and 5.19% higher year to date.
Sanson said the county's general revenue chart is "a little bit above last year" but flagged a needed correction in the 2024–2025 comparison that would make the trend clearer. He emphasized that February is typically the largest month (reflecting December sales) and noted momentum in the 3-month moving average, stating, "February is our biggest month of the year... So we expect this, but it is over 5% over February '24 or '25. So we're still in good shape."
He also raised a warning about voluntary-tax collections: while raw dollars are up in some categories, the percentage of the tax base collected on voluntary taxes is down "nearly a third of a percent" compared with the earlier period. Sanson attributed part of past changes in voluntary collections to a Kimberly Clark account pickup and said forecasting voluntary payments is difficult because taxpayers are not required to pay them. "Those voluntary taxes are very hard to predict," he said, and the committee agreed to revisit that item in July when a fuller projection will be available.
Sanson walked the committee through year-end accounting practices, explaining he runs the accounts through period 13 to capture late expenditures and then compares revenue to budgeted expenditures. He said that when adjusting for timing issues the county was presented as being approximately $2.83 million ahead (as he described it) and that most other funds were explainable in the materials provided.
The committee had brief questions about specific line items; one member asked about declining collection percentages and another about the composition of the charts Sanson presented. Sanson confirmed he had sent spreadsheets on voluntary tax and would revisit projections in July.
The committee thanked Sanson for the report. The treasurer's presentation covered fund statements, sales-tax performance, voluntary-tax collection rates and year-end reconciliation procedures; members requested updated projections at the July meeting.
