2008 tax revenues just miss estimates

El Paso County's sales- and use-tax revenue fell slightly last year, dipping only $252,000 below 2007's total, a Treasurer's Office report released Thursday shows, putting off the need for more cuts or layoffs.

It's in stark contrast to Colorado Springs' sales tax collections, which have been in free fall for months.

City sales tax receipts last year were $13.7 million below the 2007 total and $13.1 million short of budget forecasts.

The county's relative buoyancy is due largely to sales tax collections at Wal-Mart stores and big-box retail outlets in Falcon and Monument and other areas outside Colorado Springs.

County Treasurer Sandra Damron's report showed the county collected $68.5 million in 2008, compared with $68.75 million in 2007.

One gloomy note, though, is that December's collections - on October sales - were $5.1 million, the second-lowest of the year.

The original 2008 budget predicted $71.6 million in sales and use taxes. Use tax is collected on building materials used in the county but purchased elsewhere.

As the economy worsened at mid-year, county officials scaled back the estimate to $68.3 million. The revised forecast triggered the elimination of nearly 200 jobs and other cuts.

"This report presents no surprises to the Board of County Commissioners," Chairman Jim Bensberg said. "Our staff assures us this is exactly what was predicted based on the downturn in the economy."

Damron's report also showed the county's investment earnings plummeted last year by 52 percent. Investment earnings totaled $1.75 million, about half the $3.4 million the county projected.

Revenues from fees fell by 2.6 percent, or $423,185, compared with those of 2007. The drop was due to a 20 percent decline in land development fees and a 4.9 percent dip in recording fees, both of which are associated with the hard-hit construction sector.

The county also revised estimates of revenues from fees at mid-year, shaving more than $1.2 million from forecasts, which proved to be more pessimistic than necessary.

County Administrator Jeff Greene said Wednesday that commissioners made deep cuts last year hoping to reach a level of spending that's sustainable in 2009.

"We would obviously like to be in a better position and be able to have more revenue to take care of the needs of the county, like opening five days a week," Bensberg said. The county started closing offices on Friday in late 2007 to save money.

"But we made the necessary, painful budget cuts, predicting the numbers would come in the way they are," he said. "And so far, we're on target."

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Call Zubeck at 636-0238