Upshur County receives $90,760, Cities and towns share $181,306.25
AUSTIN, TX, Feb. 13, 2009 -- Texas Comptroller Susan Combs said today the state collected $1.92 billion in sales tax revenue in January, up 3.9 percent compared to January 2008.
“Growth in state sales tax collections remains modest,” Combs said. “While overall growth has continued for the first five months of fiscal 2009, collections from important sectors such as retail trade and construction have decreased.”
Combs sent $665.5 million in local sales tax to Texas cities, counties, transit systems and special purpose taxing districts, up 3.9 percent compared to sales tax distributions to local governments in February 2008.
January state sales tax collections and February’s local sales tax allocations represent sales made in December, but also include earlier sales by businesses that report sales tax to the Comptroller on a quarterly or annual basis.
The Comptroller sent $445.2 million in sales tax to Texas cities, up 2.5 percent compared to February 2008 payments. Texas counties received February sales tax payments of $41.4 million, up 9.9 percent compared to last February.
The 148 special purpose taxing districts around the state received $26.7 million in sales tax, up 24 percent compared to February 2008. Ten local transit systems received $152.1 million in February sales tax payments, up 3.3 percent compared to a year ago.
The Comptroller’s next local sales tax allocation will be made on Friday, March 13.
Upshur County and Cities Tax Allocations
| City / County | Current Payment | 2009 YTD Total | 2008 Comparable | % Change |
| Big Sandy | $28,589.49 | $49,169.49 | 55,529.00 | -11.45% |
| East Mountain | 2,067.68 | 3,810.06 | 4,280.44 | -10.98% |
| Gilmer | 136,820.00 | 234,493.71 | 225,259.30 | 4.09% |
| Ore City | 13,118.54 | 23,978.31 | 24,648.92 | -2.72% |
| Union Grove | 710.54 | 925.97 | 842.40
| 9.92% |
| Upshur County | $90,760.26 | 153,830.13 | 141,317.09 | 8.85% |
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Upshur jobless rate rises two tenths of a percent from September through November.
According to statistics released last week from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the county's unemployment rate is beginning to rise, tracking similar increases across the state and nationally.
This echoes warnings last week in Texas Comptroller Susan Comb's Biennial Revenue Estimate, which predicted job losses across the state through the first three quarters of 2009.
Upshur still lags the state jobless rate of 5.7%, and fares better than the national level of 6.7%.
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Texas is projected to suffer job losses and revenue decreases this year, should recover in 2010.
AUSTIN, TX, JAN. 12, 2009 -- Texas Comptroller Susan Combs today said the state can expect to have $77.1 billion available for general-purpose spending during the 2010-11 biennium.
“Given the continuing turmoil in the national economy, auto industry, housing and financial markets, this is a cautious forecast,” Combs said. “Our wisest course is to exercise prudence, just as Texas families are doing during the economic downturn.”
Combs’ Biennial Revenue Estimate (BRE) includes a $2.1 billion ending balance carried forward from the 2008-09 biennium, plus an estimated $76.7 billion in anticipated general-purpose revenue from taxes and other sources. Against this amount, an estimated $1.7 billion will be reserved for future transfers into the Rainy Day Fund, leaving the Legislature $77.1 billion for general-purpose spending as they write the 2010-11 state budget.
“Though Texas has avoided the worst economic impacts affecting other states, the national downturn has finally begun to touch Texas,” Combs said. “Our new economic forecast indicates Texas will be affected in fiscal 2009 before regaining economic momentum in fiscal 2010.”
Texas can expect to lose about 111,000 nonfarm jobs through the first three quarters of calendar 2009, but the trend should reverse in late 2009. Texas job growth in 2010-11 is expected to average 1.1 percent annually. In comparison, the nation’s job count could drop by an average 0.3 percent per year. Also in fiscal 2009, the annual growth rate of Texas’ gross state product is projected to be 1.8 percent and then rise slightly to 1.9 percent in fiscal 2010, before jumping to 3.8 percent in fiscal 2011.
The performance of Texas taxes will vary by economic sector. Sales taxes, for example, are expected to increase by 2.9 percent to $44.4 billion, compared to $43.1 billion in 2008-09. Motor vehicle sales taxes, a separate tax and currently being affected by declines in consumer confidence, are expected to generate $5.5 billion, down 6.5 percent compared to 2008-09. Oil and natural gas severance taxes are expected to decline 43.3 percent and 26.5 percent respectively as prices retreat from their 2008 highs. The $8.9 billion in franchise tax revenue anticipated in 2010-11 will be virtually flat compared to the $8.8 billion expected for 2008-09. Part of the flat revenue reflects weaker economic conditions caused by the national recession.
“The economic and revenue outlook for Texas during the next two years is challenging, but we have positive factors that put us in an enviable position to ride out the national downturn and emerge strong, healthy and competitive,” Combs said.
Positive factors include the fact that Texas is expected to finish the current 2008-09 biennium with $2 billion in general-purpose revenue left over to carry into 2010-11. Also, Texas has additional resources to draw upon to help pay for vital programs during the next biennium. At the end of the current biennium the Rainy Day Fund will contain $6.7 billion. The Property Tax Relief Fund used for education funding will enter the upcoming biennium with a $3 billion beginning balance.
In the 2008-09 biennium, $86.2 billion in revenue for general-purpose spending was available. The amount of available dollars for 2010-11 is lower for several reasons: the $2 billion ending balance carried forward from the 2008-09 biennium is significantly less than a $9 billion ending balance two years ago; and the slower economy will generate slightly less tax revenue during the 2010-11 biennium compared to 2008-09.
“Our Biennial Revenue Estimate is conservative, a policy that has served Texas well and is especially appropriate for the current economic climate,” Combs said. “We will continue to monitor the national economy and its impact on Texas very closely, and we will update the Legislature immediately if our revenue projections change.”
The full Biennial Revenue Estimate is available on the Comptroller’s Web site at www.window.state.tx.us/taxbud/bre2010/.
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Upshur County receives $63,000, Cities and towns share $131,000.
AUSTIN, TX Jan. 9, 2009 -- Comptroller Susan Combs announced today that the state collected $1.86 billion in sales tax revenue in December, up 2 percent compared to December 2007.
“State sales tax collections have grown 3.9 percent for the first four months of state fiscal year 2009,” Combs said. “Growth in overall collections has slowed compared to recent years, while remittances from key sectors such as construction and retail trade have declined.”
Combs sent cities, counties, transit systems and special purpose taxing districts their first sales tax allocations of 2009 — $459.2 million, up 2.4 percent compared to January 2008.
Combs sent January sales tax allocations of $309.9 million to Texas cities, up 2.2 percent compared to January 2008. Texas counties received sales tax payments of $29 million, up 8.2 percent compared to last January.
In addition, $18.3 million went to 148 special purpose taxing districts around the state, up 23.5 percent compared to last January. Ten local transit systems received $101.9 million in sales tax allocations, down 1.4 percent compared to a year ago.
December state sales tax collections and January allocations to local governments represent sales that occurred in November.
Upshur County and Cities Tax Allocations
| City / County | Current Payment | 2009 Total | 2008 Comparable | % Change |
| Big Sandy | $20.580.00 | 20,580.00 | 22,123.89 | -6.97% |
| East Mountain | $1,742.38 | 1,742.38 | 1,702.35 | +2.35% |
| Gilmer | $97,673.71 | 97,673.71 | 92,857.82 | +5.18% |
| Ore City | $10,859.77 | 10,859.77 | 8,279.78 | +31.16% |
| Union Grove | $215.43 | 215.43 | 517.56
| -58.37% |
| Upshur County | $63,069.87 | 63,069.87 | 55,715.75 | +13.19 |
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Texas Comptroller Susan Combs takes the measure of online financial reporting by counties, and finds Upshur to be one among many counties not posting all of it's records on the web.
Texas counties are not legally required to post financial records online. Under the "Open Records" law, county financial information is available to the public, in paper form, upon request. Some counties go a step further though, and post the information online, making the information far easier for the public to access.
That open approach is known as transparency, and it makes it easy for citizens to examine documents, question decisions, root out inefficiencies and hold officials accountable for the way tax dollars are spent.
Texas Transparency Check-up is a website launched by the Comptroller earlier this year to gauge just how open and user friendly each county in Texas is.
The site looks online for a county's budget, financial report and check register.
According to the site, 109 counties currently post no records online, and only 3, (Collin, Grayson and Tarrant) post all three record sets. Upshur posts it's budgets and financial reports, joining the majority of counties that post some records, but not check registries.
Another website, Texas Budget Source, tracks the financial postings of the state's Independent School Districts. Like counties, online posting is not a legal requirement for school districts.
While fairly comprehensive, the site is in error in several regards:
- It reports in error that Harmony does not post it's check registries.
- It reports in error that Union Grove does not post check registries. The ISD posts budgets, financial reports and check registries in it's "Board Book" Agenda Packets.
A search of that site for Upshur County ISD's reveals that our local school districts can, for the most part, be judged fairly transparent.
Union Grove ISD leads the pack, posting all three record sets. Ore City and Harmony follow by posting their budget and monthly check registers.
Union Hill post only it's budget. New Diana has a budget site, but the posting is outdated.
No financial records could be found on either Gilmer or Big Sandy's website.
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Countywide, 2008 tax allocations totaled $2,609,000, increasing $205,000 over 2007
Texas Comptroller Susan Combs said Friday that Texas collected $1.98 billion in sales tax in November, up 4.7 percent compared to November 2007.
“For the first three months of the state’s 2009 fiscal year, state sales tax collections have continued to grow,” Combs said. “However, the increase is less than in the past three years, and collections from important sectors such as retail trade and construction have declined slightly.”
The Comptroller sent cities, counties, special purpose districts and transit systems their final sales tax allocations of 2008 — $488 million, up 9.2 percent compared to last December. Despite the economic slowdown, Combs said local governments collected $5.9 billion in sales tax this year, 6.3 percent more than in 2007.
Upshur County, as well as the cities of Big Sandy, East Mountain, Gilmer, Ore City, and Union Grove, all receive separate monthly allocations from the state.
When combined, the December allocations of $213,573.50, which comes from sales taxes collected in October of this year, grew over $23,000 from December 2007, which was $190,357.64.
For the calendar year, 2007 combined allocations were $2,404,349, increasing this year to $2,609,958. This is a healthy 8.5% increase.
Calendar Years 2008 and 2007 Allocations
| Recipient | 2008 | 2007 | % Change |
|---|
| Big Sandy | $280,782 | $261,890 | 7.21% |
| East Mountain | $23,474 | $19,077 | 23.05% |
| Gilmer | $1,282,214 | $1,204,491 | 6.45% |
| Ore City | $131,454 | $112,058 | 17.31% |
| Union Grove | $5,752 | $5,313 | 8.27% |
| Upshur County | $886,279 | $801,517 | 10.58% |
| Combined | $2,609,958 | $2,404,349 | 8.55% |
Not all the news was rosy, however. Big Sandy, East Mountain and Union Grove all saw individual decreases from December of last year. Union Grove tumbled 64%.
December 2008 and 2007 Allocations | Recipient | Dec 2008 | Dec 2007 | % Change |
|---|
| Big Sandy | $23,984 | $24,569 | -2.38% |
| East Mountain | $2, 111 | $2,395 | -11.83% |
| Gilmer | $103,912 | $92,936 | 11.81% |
| Ore City | $10,527 | $9,759 | 7.87% |
| Union Grove | $303 | $862 | -64.82% |
| Upshur County | $72,734 | $59,835 | 21.56% |
| Combined | $213,573 | $190,357 | 12.20% |
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