According to the data, which was updated around June 10, the city collected just under $2.1 million in tax revenue from sales made in the city throughout the month of April. As of early May, city officials were predicting the city would collect only about $1.53 million in April.
When the coronavirus hit the state, League City officials began projecting how the pandemic might affect sales tax revenue. April was the first full month of business closures in Texas, so League City officials expected sales tax revenue to be far less than what was originally budgeted.
As part of their projections, officials predicted March sales tax revenue would be $2.38 million—about $340,000 less than the $2.72 million the city had originally budgeted in September. However, sales tax revenue for March was $2.47 million, which lies between both projections.
League City officials have not changed their sales tax revenue projections for the remainder of the fiscal year. Officials are predicting sales tax revenue will increase but not reach originally budgeted amounts until September.
"With April sales representing a complete month with COVID-19 business interruption and the favorable sales tax receipts when compared to the May 1 projection, the budget office is confident in updating the year-end estimate for general fund sales tax to $20,182,283, which is $287,235 under the $20,469,518 budget," Budget and Project Management Director Angie Steelman wrote in a memo to City Manager John Baumgartner. "This is a conservative estimate as it allows for the updated March and April sales receipts but continues to project May through August at the original reduced levels."
The $2.1 million in sales tax revenue for April is just over the $2.08 million the city originally had budgeted in September to collect for the month. The amount is almost $300,000 more than the city actually collected in April 2019 sales tax revenue, according to city data.
