The city of Brookhaven continues with a lower-than-average monthly sales tax receipts total, but also has maintained its growth for the 2019-2020 fiscal year overall.

Brookhaven brought in $468,958.49 in sales tax diversions for the month of November, just over $3,500 more than the previous month, but still below the overall average for the 2019-2020 fiscal year to date. The total is also $28,600 less than November 2018.

The city’s year-to-date total of $2,408,195.40 is higher than that of the previous year at this point, which was $2,360,270.30.

Statewide receipts of $36,770,387.36 were $29,000 less than the prior month and approximately $90,000 less than that of the previous year. Year-to-date total for Mississippi was $186,919,288.90, however, almost exactly $2 million higher than that of the 2018-2019 fiscal year at that point.

McComb and Cleveland are the two municipalities in the state closest in residential population to that of Brookhaven — slightly more and slightly less, respectively. November diversions for McComb were $438,998.73, $920 higher than the previous November but $12,600 less than October 2019. Year-to-date total for the city was $1,000 higher than the prior year.

Cleveland’s November receipts were $335,353.60, up close to $13,000 from the month before and up $9,500 from the previous November. The city’s year-to-date total was $1.63 million, approximately $87,000 higher than one year earlier.

Across the Magnolia State, 33 cities have larger populations than Brookhaven. Of these, 14 brought in lower tax receipts than the Home Seeker’s Paradise. They were Canton, Clarksdale, Clinton, Gautier, Greenwood, Grenada, Hernando, Horn Lake, Long Beach, McComb, Moss Point, Natchez, Ocean Springs and Pascagoula.

The capital city of Jackson, with the largest population of any city statewide, brought in $2,324,162.66, up just over $43,000 from October. Seven other cities brought in receipts of $1.01 million to $1.84 million each.

Thirty cities or towns brought in sales tax receipts of less than $1,000 for November, including Alligator, Chunky and the town of Falcon — with a last-recorded population of 317 — which had tax receipts of only $58.64 and a year-to-date total of $98.26.

Satartia, with a population of only nine, brought in $100.02 for November, bringing its year-to-date total up to $136.26.

Sales tax data is provided by the Mississippi Department of Revenue. Sales tax has a three month cycle. In Month 1, tax is collected by the retailer. In Month 2, tax is reported and paid to the Department of Revenue by the retailer. In Month 3, diversion is paid by the Department of Revenue to the cities. This report is based on the month the tax is collected at the Department of Revenue (Month 2).