In the black

All good things come to an end - sort of.

 

The City of Odessa posted a decrease in sales tax returns this month - the first after 27 months of increases. Odessa's expecting a reimbursement of $1,436,043.37, a 5.01 percent decrease from last March's $1,511,893.13.

 

But there's a caveat. The State Comptroller's Office, after doing a sales tax audit, took $427,069.52 out of Odessa's return.

 

"I don't have an explanation for it, but it's very unusual in that dollar amount," Assistant City  Manager James Zentner said, adding that there are audit adjustments every month. "Usually it's up 10, down 10; up 20, down 20. It's small numbers - but this was a big one.

 

Discounting the audit adjustment, the city actually saw a 23 percent increase in sales tax revenue, Zentner said.

 

"It's not a trend to be concerned with, but it is loss of revenue," Zentner said.

 

"But we're still up over 12 percent year to date on our budget - that's little over $1 million," he said. "We're still doing good for the whole year. This month's check was just not what we were expecting."

 

Midland, however, was in exactly the opposite boat. Midland's expecting a reimbursement of $ 2,960,347.88, a 30.34 percent increase from last March's $2,271,173.76.

 

But that number's a little misleading, too, Finance Director Bob McNaughton said.

 

When the comptroller did audit adjustments for Midland, the city saw an additional return of $286,175.52.

 

"Taking that audit collection out, and looking back to March of '07 - we would have been up 16 1/2 percent, adjusting for audit collections," McNaughton said. "That would be more in line with what's going on."

 

McNaughton referenced Odessa and said both economies are still performing well.

 

Both McNaughton and Zentner pointed to a booming oil industry as keeping the Permian Basin economy flying.

 

"It's $110 a barrel oil," McNaughton said. "Let's be honest about it - that's what driving it right now."

 

And it's not just Odessa-Midland in the black.

 

Things are also still going well in much of the Permian Basin. Twenty-one area towns posted increases in sales tax returns.

 

Just 30 miles south of Odessa, Crane's seeing a triple-digit increase in sales tax returns this month. The city's poised to collect $97,432.53, a 113.71 percent increase over the $45,589.57 return from March 2007.

 

Barbara Stone, co-owner of Stone's Home Center, said the oilfields are still keeping business booming in Crane.

 

"We sell a lot of oilfield lumber and timber," she said. "... Everything's going good. It's still doing real well."

 

But she said it can't all be attributed to the oil companies in town.

 

"We have people come in from McCamey, Iraan and Big Lake - and our furniture store is doing really well, too," she said. "We've been very fortunate, very blessed with our businesses."

 

HOW MUCH?

>> The City of Odessa is expecting a March sales tax return of $1,436,043.37. Of that, the city gets $1,148,834.70 and the Odessa Development Corp. gets $287,208.67.

SALES TAX RESULTS AT A GLANCE

Here's a glance at what kind   of sales tax revenue checks Permian Basin area towns are expecting.

>> Alpine $103,958.88, up 24.52 percent.

>> Andrews $294,013.73, up 22.30 percent.

>> Big Lake $72,282.59, up 30.66 percent.

>> Big Spring $388.284.20, up 5.35 percent.

>> Crane $97,432.53, up 113.71 percent.

>> Fort Stockton $186,730.67, up 33.42 percent.

>> Goldsmith $10,570.80, up 22.19 percent.

>> Grandfalls $1,782.31, up 6 percent.

>> Kermit $51,139.05, up 5.24 percent.

>> Lamesa $97,396.37, up 24.08 percent.

>> Marfa $19,781.36, up 2.2 percent.

>> McCamey $13,366.22, down 50.82 percent.

>> Midland $2,960,347.88, up 30.34 percent.

>> Monahans $113,062.34, down 1.04 percent.

>> Odessa $1,436,043.37, down 5.01 percent.

>> Ector County Hospital District $1,491,766.92, up 0.94 percent.

>> Pecos $150,429.29, up 83.64 percent.

>> Presidio $31,856.66, up 20.83 percent.

>> Pyote $1,812.25, up 386.6 percent.

>> Rankin $5,272.55, up 1.5 percent.

>> Seminole $83,930.72, up 11.71 percent.

>> Stanton $24,764.58, up 69.79 percent.

>> Toyah $906.66, up 258.93 percent.

>> Wickett $14,938.65, up 141.93 percent.

>> Wink $8,667.47, up 14.68 percent.