Compared to last year’s numbers, Brookhaven’s sales tax diversion for August saw basically no growth while Mississippi cities on average saw an increase of 9.19 percent.

According to the Mississippi Department of Revenue, Brookhaven’s sales tax diversion for August was $471,296.10.

Sales tax has a three-month cycle. Month one is when the tax is collected by the retailer, month two is when the tax is reported/paid to the DOR by the retailer and month three is when the sales tax diversion is paid by the DOR to cities. This means the number labeled August reflects the sales tax collected in July, which the city actually receives a check for in September.

City Clerk Mike Jinks said Brookhaven budgeted correctly.

“As far as what we budgeted and what we’re getting in, [it’s] pretty much right on target,” Jinks said. “We budgeted that from Oct. 1 to Aug. 31 we would receive $5,087,500 and we’ve brought in $5,133,097. We’re right on budget with what we expected.”

The sales tax diversion for August is up 0.74 percent from last year, with August’s diversion in 2014 being $467,826.51. From 2013 to 2014, the city’s August diversion grew by 4.53 percent.

Total sales tax diversions to all cities in Mississippi for August was $37,362,307.71, a 9.19 percent increase from August 2014. While Brookhaven is well below the state’s percentage of increase from last year, numbers from month to month can vary significantly. Brookhaven continues to bring in revenues more than most in the region and close to or more than cities twice its size.

The sales tax revenue does not include the 2 percent lodging tax, which the city receives around the same time each month from the state as well. August’s lodging tax revenue was $7,074.

Regionally, Natchez collected approximately $453,919.85 for August (up 3.45 percent from last year’s August figure) and McComb collected $477,379.09 (up 8.82 percent from last year).