Sales tax revenue drops in county

The county expects to have a higher 2009 budget than 2008.

STAFF REPORT

WARREN — The predicted slide in Trumbull County sales tax revenue has begun.

During discussions about the 2009 county budget, Adrian Biviano, Trumbull County auditor, projected that the county’s revenue from the county sales tax is likely to drop 10 percent in 2009 from its 2008 level.

The receipts for expenditures made in Trumbull County in October 2008 that arrived at the auditor’s department earlier this month were down 12 percent compared to October 2007.

The county’s share of the local sales tax money was $1,535,000 in October 2008, down $213,000 from the $1,748,000 received for October 2007, Biviano said.

The sales tax receipts for September were down by a negligible $21,000, or around 1 percent, Biviano noted.

The October reduction confirms what Biviano predicted in December was likely to happen to county sales tax revenue.

At the time, sales tax revenues were running at about the same rate as in 2007, but Biviano predicted they would drop off locally for the busy retail season of October through December and beyond. Sales tax collections arrive at the county level about three months after they are collected.

The county expects to be able to increase its 2009 budget by $2 million to $3 million over 2008 expenditures, however, because it has a funding “cushion,” Biviano said.

Also, the auditor said, county officials are hoping workers in the sheriff’s department will accept a wage freeze in 2009 to offset reductions in 2009 sales tax revenue that are likely because of the economic slowdown that occurred nationally starting in the fall.