Steuben County sales tax revenues increase
By ROB PRICE THE COURIER-ADVOCATE

BATH - Steuben County's sales tax revenues in the second quarter of 2007 increased by 2.6 percent over tax revenues in the same period last year.

County Treasurer Carol Whitehead said the higher revenues are a good sign for the county's retail economy, and county Administrator Mark Alger added the revenues are in line with annual budget projections.

The county's sales tax revenues totaled $6.4 million in the second quarter of the year, up from $6.2 million in 2006.

Separately, sales tax revenue for the City of Hornell increased by 3.7 percent, from $526,000 to $545,000. The City of Corning, however, saw a 1.5 percent decrease in its sales tax receipts, from $618,511 in the second quarter of 2006 to $609,372 in the same period of 2007.

The towns and villages of Steuben County also registered growth in sales tax revenue, from $2.9 million in the 2006 second quarter to just under $3 million in the second quarter of 2007.

Total sales tax revenue for the county, cities, villages and municipalities rose from $10.7 million to $10.9 million, a 2.6 percent increase.

"That's not exorbitant, but I would say it falls within the ballpark," said Whitehead. "I would say this is a typical growth for a quarter."

Alger noted county sales tax revenues had dipped in the first quarter of the year, which makes the second-quarter improvement welcome. "This quarter almost made up for (the first)," he said. "You'd like to have them look better, but all in all these are pretty good."

The county administrator added the revenues are consistent with legislators' estimates during the budget building process for 2007. "They're good for our revenue projections," he said.