Sales tax ahead of schedule

By Staff
Leada DeVaney
Hartselle Enquirer
The economic times in Hartselle may be on an up-swing.
Hartselle's sales tax collections for the first six months of the fiscal year are better than expected.
"We're a little bit ahead of where I thought we'd be," City Administrator Ferrell Vest said.
Vest and other city department heads recently completed a six-month review of operations. The city's fiscal year began Oct. 1, 2001.
In the first six months of the fiscal year, Vest said the city has collected 53 percent of its projected sales taxes. The city has collected some $2.2 million in sales taxes.
Other revenue areas are also stronger than expected. The purchase of privilege and business licenses are well ahead of schedule, Vest said.
The city has collected some $617,881 in privilege license fees, a figure way above where it predicted it would be. In the first six months, the city has collected the full amount it thought it would collect for the entire year.
Business licenses are also doing well. The city has collected $39,913 in the first six months of the year. That amount puts it at 99.8 percent for the entire year.
While revenues are up, Vest said expenditures are slightly behind. Expenditures for the year are at 48 percent.