The city of Starkville saw its sales tax and hotel/motel tax revenue improve year-over-year, according to latest data provided by the city.
In September 2017, the city collected $608,135.89 in sales tax revenue, which is up from $585,700.65 reported for September in the previous year.
Month-to-month, the city reported a slight downturn in sales tax revenue from $619,204.68 collected in August.
For the hotel/motel tax in September, the city collected $23,339.59 - which is up from $21,131.52 in September 2016.
If the monthly average holds for city sales tax revenue, the city is currently on pace to top its 2016 total of $6,931,658.48. The same can also be said for the hotel/motel tax revenue, with the city on pace to top the yearly total of $304,438.14 in 2016.
In total, the city has collected $5,227,500.79 in sales tax revenue for 2017, with a monthly average of $653,437.60 so far for 2017.
For hotel/motel tax revenue, the city reported collecting $230,729.62 for the year thus far, with the monthly average for 2017 coming in at $25,636.62. The monthly average is consistent with 2016 numbers, which saw the monthly average for the hotel/motel tax at $25,369.85 for 2016.
The percent change from 2016 to 2017 for the city’s sales tax is a 24.59 percent decrease with three months left in the calendar year. While the city saw a 10.77 percent increase for March from 2016 to 2017, the city reported its largest decrease in April, which fell 6.40 percent from 2016 to 2017.
For the hotel/motel tax, the city saw a 10.45 percent increase from 2016 to 2017 for the month of September. This came on the heels of a 78.69 percent increase for August from 2016 to 2017 - much of which is dictated by the football schedule of Mississippi State University, with two home football games played in September.
The football tourism boost for hotel/motel tax revenue is likely to continue as football season moves on with two home football games played in October and three scheduled in the month of November.
While football season has brought a uptick in revenue for local tourism, March still proves to be the best month in 2017, with a 178.71 percent increase from the previous year.