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Sales tax collections project a $5 million boost; audit recoveries top $2.7 million, staff says
Summary
At an April 20 budget review meeting, sales tax staff reported year‑to‑date collections up about $5 million (6.2%) from last year and said audit collections have yielded roughly $2.7 million in the prior fiscal year and nearly $3.0 million year‑to‑date; board members pressed for conservative budgeting and better alignment between sales tax data and the finance office’s projections.
Paul Johnson, the sales tax office representative, told the St. Charles Parish School Board Budget Review Committee on April 20 that year‑to‑date sales tax receipts through February (received in March) show a projected increase of about $5,000,000 — roughly 6.2% — compared with the same point last fiscal year.
Johnson said the office budgeted approximately $87,000,000 for the reporting period and that the parish collected about $82,000,000 at the same point last year. She added that the school board’s portion of the sales tax revenue accounts for roughly a $3,000,000 increase in the projection and that remote‑seller collections and large, one‑time project receipts have driven much of the month‑to‑month volatility.
Why it matters: Sales tax is the largest locally generated revenue source for the district. Small changes — including audit recoveries or project‑driven spikes — can materially affect year‑end cash flow and the board’s ability to fund operations or build fund balance.
Johnson also highlighted audit activity. She said the parish collected about $2,700,000 in audit taxes, penalties and interest in fiscal year 2025 and that audit collections year‑to‑date were approaching $3,000,000. She reported the office completed 51 audits so far this fiscal year and assessed liability in 29 cases; the remaining 22 audits resulted in no assessment.
Board members asked whether the volume of audits with no assessment represents wasted effort or an acceptable cost of compliance. Johnson said most audits are short and handled by in‑house staff; some audits are contracted for large retailers and can identify liabilities where the parish represents only a small portion of a retailer’s activity. “We follow everybody’s leads,” she said, adding the cost of in‑house audits is minimal because they typically take only a few hours.
Several members pressed staff about projection practices and data alignment between the sales tax office and the finance office. One board member said the board needs a baseline variance history (requests were made for data back to 2004 or 2009) to judge how conservative future projections should be; another asked whether the sales tax office’s access to raw data is being fully used when the finance office prepares budgets. Johnson said she would provide the board the underlying files showing the numbers she supplies and that she meets with parish finance staff when preparing parish‑level projections.
The board did not take formal action. Staff agreed to furnish electronic copies of the presentation, provide historical variance data requested by several members and continue coordinating projections with the finance office.
