Sales tax collections released in December illustrated the parish had a better month in November than October.
In the last few months, the majority of collection comparisons in the parish have been in the negative. Leaders have indicated the negative numbers are associated with increased spending after Hurricanes Laura (August 27, 2020) and Delta (October 9, 2020) and the winter storm of 2021 (February 13-17). Construction, repairs and other dollars spent to fix both business and residential areas spiked collections in the area. Labor shortages and product availability associated with the pandemic also required more time to make the necessary repairs. Other factors were some materials became difficult to locate and inflation increased costs to make these repairs.
This report didn’t produce as much red (negative numbers) as last month’s report. Kinder ($13,799.48 less for -21.46%), Oberlin ($5,244.74 less for -27.44%), Elizabeth ($4,247.66 less for -41.78%), the library/sewage fund for Kinder ($4,139.82 less for -21.46%), occupancy tax ($1,331.93 less for -26.95%), tourist commission ($3,995.77 less for -26.95%) and Reeves ($2,727.51 less for -40.46%) saw red (decreased amount changes) once again in its monthly comparisons. However the school board (#1 and #2 $18,494.25 more or 3.39% and #3 $9,268.21 more or 3.40%), police jury ($6,487.61 more or 3.40%), City of Oakdale ($9,474.73 more or 8.07%) and sheriff’s district ($9,268.28 more or 3.40%) saw increases.
Overall the parish saw $17,506.17 more in collections than in the last month or 1.14 percent. That wasn’t true for the year-to-year comparisons where the parish overall saw a decrease of $771,204.09 or a negative 4.66%.
Remember to shop locally, because your tax dollars help the parish’s growth, as well as local communities.
