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City finance report: sales-tax collections up through July; council pushes 'shop local' campaign
Summary
City staff reported year-to-date collections of about $8.7 million and noted sales-tax trends are up (rough July increase ~18% vs prior years); the mayor announced a local 'shop small' campaign for Oct. 3 to boost local retail and sales tax revenue.
Clarissa Brown Smith presented the city's fiscal data through July during the Aug. 25 council meeting, reporting approximately $8.7 million in collections year to date and noting that July collections were roughly 18% higher compared with recent years.
Smith walked the council through slides comparing calendar-year and fiscal-year figures, calling out hotel-occupancy tax and certain TIF districts that are showing increases. She said some economic development districts were flat or slightly down (for example, one district was down about 5 percent) while others were up, including a Riverside area showing double-digit growth.
Council and staff discussed the upcoming festival season and noted that festival months normally boost sales and hotel receipts; Smith said the city had outperformed earlier expectations entering the festival period.
The mayor announced a "shop local" initiative to begin Oct. 3 to encourage residents to patronize local businesses, which councilmembers said they hope will boost sales-tax receipts and support local merchants. Staff described the program as outreach and education aimed at keeping more retail dollars in Natchitoches.
Council did not take action to change tax rates or make budget transfers during the meeting; members called the report "very positive."
