Sales tax revenues that help fund the Santa Cruz County government continue to shrink, said Finance Director Jennifer St. John.

“Our sales tax projections are pretty skimpy,” she told the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 6.

The state collects the revenue and then reimburses the county its half-cent excise tax plus shared sales tax revenues, St. John said. But it subtracts what the county owes the state for the Arizona Long Term Care System (ALTCS) and community college tuition for local students who study in other counties.

In 2007, the state dropped an average of $170,000 a month into the county coffers, St. John said. But since consumers are spending much less, sales tax revenues have dropped. The last state payment – for only $1,159 – came in July 2009.

“What they send us is zero,” St. John said. “They’re even taking our half-cent sales tax.”

In 2008, the county received $3,257,173.97 from its excise tax, but only $2,666,703.44 net in 2009, according to figures from the Arizona State Treasurer.

Sales tax revenue that the state shares with Santa Cruz County went from $1,624,061.13 net in 2008 and to $823,494.23 in 2009.

Revenues from the jail tax district totaled $3,242,982.74 in 2008 and dropped to $2,568,960.08 in 2009, according to the treasurer.

All that sales tax money goes into the Arizona Department of Revenue from thousands of transactions at local stores. In Santa Cruz County, did consumers spend less at businesses in 2009 than they did in 2008?

Sales

Garrett’s IGA Supermarket chalked up lower sales in 2009, but Mike Garrett would not divulge the percentage. His father, Ray Garrett, thinks the downturn in construction has taken away some of the store’s business, he said.

“We held about steady,” said Celeste Wisdom of Wisdom’s Café in Tumacacori. But October 2009 was slower than October 2008, she said.

Sales at La Paloma de Tubac were down about 10 percent at the end of June 2009, said Bill Green, owner of the Latin American import store.

At Sonoita Hardware, sales dropped 23 percent last year, said owner Larry McDonald. “They don’t buy anything they don’t have to,” he said about his customers.

McDonald and his wife have run the store for 15 years, he said. “It (2009) is absolutely the worst year we have ever had.”

A couple of businesses surveyed bucked the downward trend.

At Shelby’s Bistro in Tubac, business went up 6.7 percent in 2009, said owner Anthony Tay. “We’re here every day.”

Red Mountain Foods in Patagonia, which sells natural foods, posted a 4 percent increase in sales, said manager Ann Sager.

Sales are down in Tubac, but “it’s not just the economy,” Green said.

Passport

The passport requirement (to visit Mexico) and random violence in Nogales, Sonora has hurt producers and also harms business in Southern Arizona, he said. If people decide not to cross the border, they are less likely to travel through Santa Crux County.

The Border Patrol checkpoint, construction delays and the closed Canoa rest area discourage visitors. And now the state plans to close Tubac Presidio State Park to save money, leaving one less attraction for visitors.