Rio Blanco County tax revenues decline with economy

RBC | Sales and use tax receipts collected from July through October 2009 are, unfortunately, in line with the rest of the nation’s economy.
Combined, Meeker, Rangely and Rio Blanco County reported a 32 percent decrease in July 2009, with $729,290. RBC bore the brunt of the decrease, falling 39 percent from $834,988 to $504,308. Rangely’s sales and use tax receipts totaled $100,246, a slight increase of 7.5 percent. The town of Meeker’s sales and use tax dollars dropped 18 percent in July 2009, from $152,529 in 2008 to $124,736.
That pattern continued in August, with the town of Meeker and RBC posting decreases, and the town of Rangely reporting a small increase. Meeker’s $129,489 in August 2009 was 19 percent lower than the $159,451 it reported in 2008. Rangely reported an increase of 4 percent, from $96,778 in 2008 to $100,904. The county again experienced the greatest drop, down 55 percent from $953,969 to $424,995. Combined, all three entities reported $554,810 less revenue in August 2009 than the $1,210,198 received in 2008, a 45 percent decrease.
The rate of decline slowed somewhat in September, with the county and towns reporting a 21 percent decrease, from $991,854 to $784,918. Meeker logged a 7 percent drop, Rangely a 36 percent drop, and RBC a 21 percent decrease from the previous year.
But the numbers for October 2009 were not promising. Meeker reported $130,558, down 17 percent. Rangely reported $77,982, a 26 percent decrease. And the county reported $556,214, down 47 percent from the $1,059,643 received in 2008. Combined totals indicated a sales and use tax revenue decrease of 42 percent for all three county entities, with $764,754 in 2009 compared to $1,321,754 in October 2008.
Sales and use tax receipts include collected taxes for retail sales, motor vehicle use tax and building materials use tax. Rio Blanco County Sales and Use Tax Administrator Debbie Morlan said these numbers are unaudited and subject to change.