Municipal sales tax revenue on steady incline in Mt. Vernon, Miller, Aurora

Sales tax revenue received by three Lawrence County municipalities has gradually, but steadily, increased over a six-year period.
Mt. Vernon, Miller and Aurora saw a steady increase in their sales tax revenue from 2013 to 2018. According to records provided by each municipality, the cities each saw tax revenue decline one year during the six-year period, but the pattern overall was one of steady growth.
In 2013, Mt. Vernon received $1,051,639.56 in sales tax revenue. That amount increased over the next two years; the city received $1,175,713.31 in 2014 and $1,799,492.72 in 2015. The revenue declined slightly in 2016, when the city received $1,649,619.52. Revenue went back up again in 2017 and 2018, when the city received $1,726,746.24 and $1,788,825.89, respectively.
Mt. Vernon City Clerk Shannon Neely attributed the rise in revenue between 2014 and 2015, in part, to the Wal-Mart opening a Mt. Vernon location in 2014. Other factors, she said, included the expansion of Brad’s True Value, and new business from Orscheln Farm and Home.
In Miller, the sales tax revenue for 2013 was $116,143.25. It increased steadily over the next three years; the city received $127,931.90 in 2014, $133,734.16 in 2015, and $149,634.92 in 2016. The revenue declined slightly in 2017 when Miller received $141,315.47, but increased to $176,886.24 in 2018.
Aurora saw much the same pattern of growth during the 2013-2018 period as Mt. Vernon and Miller. In 2013, the city’s sales-tax revenue was $1,027,523.76. The revenue increased to $1,089,048.47 in 2014 and to $1,151,342.35 in 2015. Aurora’s sales tax revenue declined slightly in 2016 when the city received $1,090,853.98, but the revenue increased in 2017 and 2018, when the city received $1,100,569.21 and $1,118,572.02 in sales tax revenue, respectively.