by WES FERGUSON
Commercial activity boomed in Kyle but slipped a bit in Buda in June.
Diana Blank, the economic development director for the city of Kyle, said retail development was driving the city’s explosive sales growth.
“People are really looking for services that they don’t have to go out of town for,” Blank said. “The new retail that has opened, everyone has been welcoming them with open arms. They have had no choice but to be successful.”
Kyle’s share of sales tax revenue rose 18 percent when compared to the same period a year ago, according to sales tax receipts for goods sold in June and distributed to cities, counties and other taxing entities on Aug. 22.
Kyle collected $381,000 in sales taxes in August, meaning that businesses in the city sold $25 million worth of goods and services in June.
Meanwhile in the city of Buda, sales tax revenue fell by 7 percent to $340,000.
“June of last year was the largest sales tax month in the city of Buda” since February 2006, said Buda City Manager Kenneth Williams. “So it was kind of hard to come back and do another one that large the next year.”
He said street closures on Main Street at Interstate 35 earlier this summer might have deterred some shoppers.
“People get into patterns of shopping, and when they’re unable to get on and off the freeway like they had planned, it changes their habits,” Williams said. “Construction could have had a bit of an effect, but last year was an extraordinarily high month.”
Work to replace the Interstate 35 overpass over Main Street is scheduled to be completed this winter.
Elsewhere in Hays County, Dripping Springs generated $127,000 in tax revenue for a 44 percent gain, and San Marcos saw a 7 percent increase to $1.75 million.
Countywide sales tax revenues grew by 8 percent.
