City OK despite falling sales tax

By Doug Russell, News Editor

STIGLER, Feb. 11 — Sales taxes throughout Oklahoma continue to be lower than they were last year, but the city of Stigler is weathering the storm pretty well, according to Cheryl Monks, city clerk.

When city leaders put together a budget for the 2009-2010 fiscal year, they didn’t raise the amounts budgeted, making it a little easier for the city to meet its financial goals. A city budget, Monks explained, is much like a household budget: “You know there are certain things you’re going to have to pay and certain things that will be unexpected. You budget to meet those needs based on what you think you’ll have.”

Some organizations budget based on expected income growth, which could lead to problems if the growth is less than projected. Stigler city leaders didn’t do that, Monks said. Instead, they budgeted based on income for the 2007-2008 fiscal year, making it easier for the city to meet its goals.

“Last year (Fiscal Year 2008-2009) was a little unusual, so when you look at tax distributions compared to last year it looks worse than it really is,” Monks said. “We didn’t budget off last year’s taxes, so the situation isn’t as bad for us as it could be for someone who did.”

Overall, the city of Stigler had seen a 12 percent drop in tax distributions for the first part of this fiscal year as compared to the 2008-2009 fiscal year, according to January figures. Preliminary information from the Oklahoma Tax Commission indicates that number would be less than 10 percent for February.

“Actually, our sale tax is a little higher than we projected,” said City Manager Jim Smith. “Not much, but a little.”

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