While discussing the most recent marketing report from the Branson Lakes/Lakes Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), it was pointed out that Branson’s sales tax revenues were down sharply for the month of October. The report, presented by Ross Summers, the CVB’s President/CEO and Dan Lennon, Vice President Marketing & Public Relations, was a marketing performance update through Sep. 30, the end of the third quarter of calendar year 2008.
Although the report shows year to year growth in the collection of both Branson’s 1% Sales Tax and 4% Tourism Tax through Sep. 30, Alderman Stephen Marshall suggested caution. Marshall pointed out that the report only covered the period through Sep. 30 and said, “We all know what has happened since then.” He specifically referred to the collapse of Wall Street and its effect on Main Street America.
Marshall expressed his concern that based on the report, the media would report that things were up and things were good. He went on to state, “We all know that as of October and November it’s like they turned off the spigot.” He indicated that he would brace for a different picture at the end of the year.
After additional discussion relating to the concern expressed by Marshall’s and its potential impact Mayor Raeanne Presley said some of the initial October tax numbers had just become available. She asked Branson City Administrator Dean Kruithof to share those figures.
He pointed out that some of the indicators they had been monitoring suggested that October and November would be “soft” months. He asserted that they had just received most recent sales tax figures for October earlier that day and that the overall city sales tax collections for October were down. He requested Finance Director, Lori Helle to give the specifics on the October sales tax receipts. Helle said that the 1percent City Sales Tax is down 11percent and the 4 percent Tourism Tax is down 9.4 percent for the month.
Mayor Pressley pointed out that the more recent October figures are based on a cash flow basis and represents all cash actually received during October. She said some of that could be payments due from previous months. Helle confirmed that and pointed out that the same thing applied to the October receipts. The Mayor also noted that the reduced percentages being discussed were as compared to the 2007 October receipt of taxes, not the 2009 budget.
Kruithof said that in addition to having budgeted very conservatively for 2009 that they would be monitoring the city’s spending trends very closely. He told the board that changing revenues and expenses, as they relate to the budget, would be watched very closely.
Furnished Courtesy of the Branson Daily Independent. https://bransoncourier.com/view_article.php?news_ID=41
