The Texas State Comptroller's Office released June sales tax revenue for cities Aug. 12. West Lake Hills saw a drop of 23.03% in June 2020 as compared to June 2019, which brought the city to an overall decline of 12.03% for the year to date.
The decrease, though difficult for a municipality that retrieves a majority of its tax revenue from sales tax, was not unexpected, according to City Administrator Travis Askey. In May, officials approved a $401,278 budget amendment to account for the expected losses.
“[The data] kind of matches last month’s allocation and what we had really built into our budget amendment for [fiscal year 2019-20],” Askey said during an Aug. 12 West Lake Hills City Council meeting.
As FY 2019-20 comes to a close, Askey predicted West Lake Hills will not face a serious deficit with the amended budget.
The nearby city of Rollingwood also saw a 13.32% year-over-year decline in sales tax revenue.
In contrast, the city of Lakeway experienced a 14.43% uptick in revenue when compared to the same time frame last year, a sharp departure from the 13.67% drop seen in April’s numbers.
Bee Cave saw a smaller increase of 3.39%, though the city’s revenue to date still depicts an overall decline.
To address the anticipated downturn in sales tax revenue, which accounts for a majority of the city of Bee Cave’s total revenue, the FY 2020-21 budget will reflect a 6% decrease in expenditures, according to a statement from City Manager Clint Garza during a Aug. 11 council meeting.
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to evolve in West Travis County, many officials, including Askey and Garza, are recommending reductions in expenditures in FY 2020-21.
