Sales tax revenue rises

CELINA - Mercer County has set a sales tax record for the eighth consecutive year, thanks to a robust economy boosted by high consumer confidence, according to county auditor Randy Grapner.

"Our population is very optimistic about the way the economy is going, and they're out there spending their dollars locally," Grapner told the newspaper.

The general fund sales tax in fiscal year 2018 brought in $5.87 million, an uptick of $240,849 from the previous year's total, while the adult detention facility sales tax brought in $2.88 million, an uptick of $85,695
Together, total sales tax revenue in Mercer County for 2018 was $8.75 million.
This news comes despite the loss of about $275,000 - 3.6 percent of total sales tax revenue - from the elimination of the sales tax on health-care services purchased through Medicaid-managed care organizations.

The state gave the county a $105,084 stipend in 2018 to help offset the loss, which Grapner figured into the general fund sales tax total.

Grapner credited the bountiful collection to a strong local economy and a county unemployment rate of 2.7 percent as of October, the lowest in the state. In October, Grapner also attributed the sales tax surge to residents' pursuing "numerous upgrades and updates to housing and business" and increased automobile purchases.

"We are fortunate because a lot of our colleagues have not seen a sales tax increase all year," Grapner said. "We're in good shape. Hopefully that continues."

A downturn in sales tax is inevitable, but Grapner doesn't think it will happen in the new year. The county's general fund sales tax collection last dropped in 2009, from $4 million the prior year to $3.64 million.

"I think 2019 is going to be a good year," Grapner noted. "I think a lot of the economists I read would suggest the same, that it may not be gangbusters, but I don't think a recession is on anybody's (radar)."

Mercer County's sales tax rate is 1.5 percent; 1 percent goes directly into the general fund while 0.5 percent is used each year to pay down the debt on and maintain the adult detention center/sheriff's office, west of Celina. The combined state and county sales tax rate is 7.25 percent.

The adult detention center/sheriff's office opened in 2010. The debt should be fully paid off in 2022, according to Grapner.

The general fund sales tax collection is the county's biggest revenue stream, constituting about 43 percent of its budget.