November 2015 Sales Tax Revenues Drop from Prior Year
Only weeks after several independent entities cautioned against the overly aggressive revenue assumptions in the 2016 budget, Westchester County released the results from November 2015, which include those generated by Black Friday and the start of the holiday shopping season that are down 2 percent from the same point in 2014.
In November of 2015, the county reported $38,825,843 in sales tax revenue, down from $39,649,702 the prior year. The drop is $823,859 and leaves the County’s 2015 11-month total over $2.5 million short of the budgeted revenue figure for the year. In order to meet the goal for the 2015 budget, December sales tax would have to have an 8.5 percent increase from the prior December.
“While the weather has been extremely conducive to shopping throughout the County, expecting to inject $16 million into the local economy in one month with one shopping season is a bit too large of a gamble for my comfort,” Legislator Ken Jenkins (D-Yonkers) said.
The County would need to pull in $54,570,562 in sales tax revenues in order to make budget for 2015 or else it will have to rely on funds from the County’s reserve to close the several million dollar operating deficit for the year.
“We’ve been cautioned against these practices for exactly this reason and with the growth in ease of online shopping, this trend is only going to continue. The last time our area saw a winter miracle like this was when Joe Namath guaranteed the Jets would win the Super Bowl; I don’t think we’re on the cusp of anything great with this administration,” Jenkins concluded.
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