Jonesboro on verge of new sales and use tax collections record, but likely to miss budget target

The city of Jonesboro is likely to break its all-time sales and use tax collections record for at least the seventh year in a row. But it is also likely with one month to go that the city will miss its projected budget collections figures. During the month of November, the city tallied $2.84 million in collections, a 2.9% ($62,005) uptick from the same month last year, according to City Hall records.

Year to date, the city has collected $24.131 million, a 4.5% ($1.029 million) gain when compared to the first 11 months in 2022. That means the city will only have to collect a little more than $1 million to break its own record.

However, the city’s projected budget, based on anticipated collections, is down. The city projected that it would collect $26.995 million for the entire year, and currently that projection is a little more than 2.6% off, or $651,904.

Sales tax figures lag by 60 days meaning the numbers released were collected two months prior. Economists consider sales tax collections as a leading economic indicator, one that can show how a local economy can be expected to perform in the short-term.

Northeast Arkansas’ hub city has a diversified workforce that has helped it to withstand national economic downturns in recent decades, according to officials. That diverse mix of jobs include healthcare, manufacturing, government, retail, agriculture and others. The city also is a hub for those in surrounding counties seeking healthcare, and Arkansas State University is the region’s largest university and employer.

Craighead County collected $2.543 million during the month, a 4% increase when compared to October of last year.

For the year, the county has tallied $27.467 million in sales and use taxes which is still on target to beat the record of $28.275 million that was collected in 2022.