For the first time since February 2009, sales tax revenue in both Enid and Garfield County have increased when compared to the previous year.
According to data from Oklahoma Tax Commission, sales tax distributions for Enid in May were $2,031,294.79, which is up from $1,944,372.24 last May.
The May distributions reflect sales tax revenues from March.
Distributions for Garfield County were $220,178.65, an increase from $218,832.95 the previous year.
Jerald Gilbert, chief financial officer for the city of Enid, said he was happy to see the revenue increase.
“I certainly think it’s a positive sign for the city,” Gilbert said.
City Manager Eric Benson said while the revenue only reflects one month and not necessarily a trend, he is optimistic about the months to come.
“It’s a trend of one month,” Benson said. “But I think we have bottomed out and have started back up.
“(March) was a good month. March is not necessarily a strong month (for revenue) typically. All the indicators that I review tell me that we are in fact recovering and growing.”
May’s increase in sales tax distributions from the previous year was about 4.4 percent, Gilbert said.
In February 2009, the last time sales tax revenue increased in Enid, the increase was only 0.1 percent, according to Oklahoma Tax Commission.
Since that month, there had been a steady decrease in sales tax revenue in Enid.
From the February 2009 increase, revenues dropped 3.2 percent, according to Oklahoma Tax Commission data. The most significant decrease in sales tax revenues in 2009 was in November, when revenues dropped 15.8 percent.
After November 2009, sales tax revenue continued to drop, though not as significantly.
December 2009 showed a 2.8 percent decrease, followed by an 8.6 percent drop in January and 5.9 percent drop in February.
The sales tax rate in Enid and Garfield County is 3.5 percent. In Enid, about 57 percent of the sales tax goes to the city general fund, Gilbert said. Another 29 percent goes to Enid Municipal Authority and is used to pay off city debt and replace some infrastructure in the city.
The remaining money is given to fire and police departments and also is used to support arterial streets, Gilbert said.