Progress & Industry: Brandon's sales tax revenue on the rise

City staff and leaders are delighted but not necessarily surprised to see Brandon bring in $400,000 beyond what was anticipated in sales tax revenue for 2019. 

The city surpassed the best-guess budget for several consecutive years, with gradual increases since 2015, according to finance officer Christina Smith. 

For 2019, city planners budgeted $2.9 million in sales tax and received $3.3 million. 

The city has to complete its budget by September each year, which makes it difficult to predict what sales tax will be, Smith added.

“We tend to be conservative on sales tax because of this, but we have increased the budget over the years to reflect the increases we are seeing,” she explained. “Since this sales tax is unpredictable, I would much rather have the budget lower and bring in more than the opposite.”

The city forecasted for $2.7 million in sales tax revenue in 2018 and reaped $3.2 million, an even bigger increase than the 2019 figure. In 2017, Brandon administration predicted $2.6 million and collected $2.9 million.

“Sales tax is unpredictable and moves with the economy,” Smith said. “We have seen a growth in businesses over the last few years, which helps our sales tax grow.”

Two cents of every dollar spent in Brandon goes into the city’s general fund. In recent years, Smith said, the city is funneling more sales tax revenue into capital improvements projects.

The Brandon Valley Area Chamber of Commerce helps spur local spending, too, with its “Buy Brandon” campaign and $5 Challenge. The Chamber also sponsors Shop Small Saturday every November and holds a business expo in conjunction with the Pigskin Classic. 

Chuck Parsons is president of the Brandon Valley Area Chamber of Commerce. 

“I’d like to think all of that plays into how we have a good business climate,” said Parsons. “If you think over the past year, I’m confident that we’ve got a good business climate, because we keep having new businesses open up.”

Brandon is attractive to retailers in part, he added, because of its interstate access and centrally-located schools. 

The city issued 44 commercial building permits in 2019 for a total valuation of nearly $4 million, compared to 35 commercial permits in 2018.