Brookhaven remains ahead of its projected sales tax revenues for its budget year, said City Clerk Mike Jinks.

     The latest sales tax numbers follow the trend up in increased collection totals.

     The state Department of Revenue’s February report indicates January sales activity yielded $382,861.08 of sales tax revenue for Brookhaven. That total jumped pretty significantly from February 2011, when the city’s report sales tax collection was more than $357,000.

     Since the city’s fiscal year began Oct. 1, 2011, the city has earned $2,111,758.27 in sales tax revenue, Jinks said. That’s about $70,000 more than what budget projections called for, the city clerk said.

     The city also remains ahead of itself in the fiscal year as reported by the state.

     Since July 2011, the Department of Revenue says Brookhaven has earned $3,322,317.20. The city continues to improve its since-July totals, with February 2011’s report indicating a total of more than $3,289,000 at that time.

     City leaders called the continued trends very positive.

     “The increase in our recent sales tax income is very welcome news, a further sign of a recovering economy,” said Cliff Brumfield, the Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce’s executive vice president.

     In a city board meeting this week, Mayor Les Bumgarner highlighted that Brookhaven’s February numbers outperformed some regional neighbors. The mayor characterized Brookhaven’s sales tax as tending to be more stable than some neighbors.

     “Malls tend to do real well around the holidays,” Bumgarner said. “But when it’s not a holiday season, we tend to hold our own.”

     Brookhaven’s larger neighbors reported lower revenue totals than the Homeseeker’s Paradise. McComb’s sales tax topped $375,000, which was an improvement over the city’s 2011’s February total of more than $360,000.

     Natchez came in below both McComb and Brookhaven at $366,971.18.

     Brookhaven’s smaller neighbors also saw their revenue rise compared to 2011. Wesson’s totals notched slightly upward, from approximately $14,572 to approximately $14,921.

     Monticello’s most recent revenue total stood at $37,000, up from about $33,000 in February 2011.

     Brumfield said he’s optimistic upward trends will continue as revenues tend to increase throughout the spring.