by WES FERGUSON
Products were flying off the shelves in Buda in May, even as commerce lagged in Kyle and San Marcos, according to the latest reports from the state comptroller’s office.
In Buda, sales tax revenues climbed by nearly $18,000, or 18 percent, when compared to the same period a year ago. Revenues fell by about $1,300, or a single percentage point, in Kyle.
In San Marcos, where commercial activity dwarfs that of Kyle and Buda, revenues dropped by nearly $30,000, or two percent.
The amounts represent sales taxes collected in May and distributed to local entities on July 11. So far this year, sales tax revenues for all three cities are still outpacing their 2010 totals.
A few small shops and restaurants have opened in the city of Buda in the past 12 months, but no major retailers have come to town. That leads Warren Ketteman, the executive director of the Buda Economic Development Corp., to think the increased revenues represent growth in single-store sales.
“It’s a good, quality sign for our local economy,” Ketteman said. “People are feeling secure in their jobs and cutting loose with their pocketbooks a little bit, and that’s not a bad thing. It’s a good thing.”
The Buda economy’s most recent banner year came in 2007. Then the Great Recession hit, and people began to spend less and save more. Buda’s commercial activity fell in 2008 and 2009 before ticking up slightly in 2010.
Commercial activity is continuing its rebound this year, though it still hasn’t caught up to the pace of 2007. To date in 2011, sales tax revenues remain five percent lower than they were in the same period four years ago.
City of Hays High
City of Hays Mayor Michael Warnken knows of a few at-home businesses in his town of 217 people. One fellow, for example, replaces windows for a living.
“We don’t have the retail like Kyle or Buda,” says Warnken. “We’re kind of limited to what we can do, and we make the most of what we have.”
But City of Hays does have something to brag about. The dollars might not compare to those generated by bigger cities around the county, but City of Hays’ little economy is growing by a whopping 45 percent this year.
So far in 2011, City of Hays has collected $12,720 in sales tax revenue. With a tax rate of 1 percent, that means City of Hays businesses have sold nearly $1.3 million in taxable goods and services through May.
The city hall doesn’t rely much on sales tax, though. The majority of the town’s budget is funded by municipal water sales to its own residents as well as to residents of the nearby Elliot Ranch subdivision.
“We watch the money like it’s ours, because it is,” Warnken says.
