by WES FERGUSON
Buda’s economy is off to the races, according to April sales tax revenue, even as neighbor city Kyle seems to have hit a speed bump.
Kyle’s share of April sales tax — which were collected on goods and services sold during February — fell by 3.6 percent compared to the same period a year ago. It was the city’s first decline following more than a year of monthly gains.
City spokesman Jerry Hendrix called the decline a “blip on the radar.”
“Our sales tax has been steadily increasing for a long time, even when other cities were seeing big reductions in their sales taxes,” Hendrix said. “So this one decline in a month isn’t indicating a trend to us. I think we’re still in pretty good shape.”
Meanwhile, sales tax revenue in Buda jumped by more than 15 percent compared to the same period in 2010.
So far in 2011, Buda has raked in $1.12 million in sales tax — a 13 percent increase over the same four-month period in 2010. Kyle is not far behind, generating more than $980,000. That’s a 9.5 percent increase.
Despite the drop in April, Kyle’s sales tax revenue for the current fiscal year is still outpacing projections, according to Hendrix.
