2018 sales tax revenue up 1.4% in Fort Smith, up 4.1% in Van Buren

Sales tax revenue for 2018 finished just ahead of 2017 with $43.007 million culled from a 2% rate that includes 1% for Fort Smith’s streets program, 0.75% for bond issues, and 0.25% divided evenly between the parks and fire departments.

The collections marked an increase of 1.41% over 2017’s $42.408 million tally. According to sales tax reports on the city of Fort Smith, January had the highest sales tax collection of the year, bringing in almost $4.14 million. December 2018 sales tax numbers came in at $3.674 million, which was fairly average for the year.

Fort Smith Finance Director Jennifer Walker estimated $41.831 million in city sales tax revenues for 2017, so the final number beat expectations by $1.176 million or, or 2.73%. In comparison, Walker estimated $42.246 million in city sales tax revenues for 2017.

The streets program received the largest share at $21.503 million compared to $21.204 million in 2017. Bond issues were next with $16.128 million against $15.903 million. Parks and fire received $5.376 million in 2018.

The city’s share of the county sales tax for December 2018 was $1.448 million up 5% from the $1.377 million in 2017. The city’s share of county sales tax revenue for the year finished at $17.044 million, 2.1% above 2017’s $16.691 million and 1.5% more than budget estimates.

Fort Smith was not the only city in the region to see an increase in revenues in 2018. Van Buren was up 4.1% from 2017, ending 2018 with $8.12 million in sales tax revenue. Greenwood saw a 3.4% increase in sales tax revenue, bringing in 2.703 million in city sales tax.

The region as a whole saw a gain in sales tax revenue as well. Sebastian County was up 2.61% from 2018 with $32.09 million in sales tax revenue in 2018. Crawford County was up 2.67% for the year, with $12.877 million. Franklin County was up 13.59% with $3.711 million; and Logan County was up 6.89% with $4.797 million.

Fort Smith
2018: $43.07 million
2017: $42.408 million
2016: $42.313 million

Van Buren
2018: $8.12 million
2017: $7.8 million
2016: $7.583 million

Greenwood
2018: $2.703 million
2017: $2.614 million
2016: $2.543 million

Crawford County
2018: $12.877 million
2017: $12.542 million
2016: $12.070 million

Franklin County
2018: $3.711 million
2017: $3.267 million
2016: $2.751 million

Logan County
2018: $4.797 million
2017: $4.488 million
2016: $2.204 million

Sebastian County
2018: $32.09 million
2017: $31.275 million
2016: $31.325 million