City of Bartlesville: November sales tax receipts end growth streak

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. - A 9-month growth streak in sales tax receipts has come to an end for the city of Bartlesville.

The city this month received roughly $1.23 million in sales tax revenues from the state for the month of November, representing a 3.27 percent decrease from the same month last year.

City of Bartlesville Finance Director Mike Bailey said though disappointing, this single month's decline does not indicate a long-term trend in sales tax revenues.

“At this point, it bears watching, but there aren't any other local indicators that would point to the start of a contraction,” he said. “Fortunately we've started the year well enough that we can weather a limited decline and still meet our budget expectations, but only if the decline is limited in both duration and severity.”

For the fiscal year to date, the city's sales tax revenues have increased by 4.6 percent when compared to last year, and are 5.56 percent above the 5-year average.

November's revenues are derived from the city's 3 percent sales tax for purchases made mostly in the last half of September and estimated sales in October.