At the June 23 board of directors meeting, The Woodlands Township officials reported revenue was about $230,000 off projections for the year to date as of May 31, the most recent report available. The total revenue projected for the time period was $70.5 million, but the actual revenue was about $70.3 million, said Monique Sharp, assistant general manager for finance and administration.

For operating expenditures, it had projected $39.3 million, and actual expenditures were $34.5 million, a difference of about $4.8 million. Savings were realized in the community services and fire departments as well as expenditures relating to the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, which was not yet fully operational at that point.

Year-to-date revenue for sales tax through the end of April showed a positive trend compared to the previous year with 2021 revenue running $590,000 above budget, or 2.3% above the projected budget for the year.

“Retail sales are very strong, particularly online sales, but even in our local big-box types of retail, we saw big improvements there,” Sharp said. “ ... But what was really nice to see in all business sectors that we’re seeing improvement, retail, manufacturing, wholesale trade, we’re seeing good bounce back in all of those now.”

Hotel occupancy tax revenue, which was almost nonexistent at the height of the shutdowns in 2020, was also on the mend, Sharp said. As of the report issued in June, $1.8 million had been collected in hotel occupancy tax. Sharp said it was 23% behind budget, but showed a positive trend. Sharp said hotel bookings are anticipated to improve.