Bridge City sees healthy sales tax collections

Most of the entities collecting sales taxes had big increases in March sales compared to last year, with Bridge City now having nearly 13 percent in sales taxes compared to last year. The city of Orange is the only entity down for the year.

All five of the largest cities in Orange County have a 1.5 percent sales tax, or 1.5 cents per dollar. The Orange County Emergency Services District No. 3 also has a 1.5 percent sales tax. The county has a 0.5 percent sales tax, or a half-cent per dollar.

The numbers and percentages reported are from the Texas Comptroller's Office, which collects all sales taxes and reimburses the shares to each entity.

Bridge City for March received $360,375, compared to $221,353 for March 2023, a 62.8 percent increase. For the first five months of the year, the city has collected $1.08 million, up from $960,232 last year, an increase of 12.7 percent.

Orange collected $984,761 for March, an increase of 5.16 percent increase from March 2023. The city is down 17.58 percent for the year to date, collecting $3.07 million, compared to 3.735 million for the same five months last year.

Pinehurst is up in both monthly and year to date sales. The city collected $63,216 for this March, compared to $53,588 last year, a jump of 17.96 percent. For the year to date, the city has $303,135, a 10.14 percent increase from the $275,214 collected last year.

Vidor is down for the month, but up for the year. The city received $357,587 for March, compared to $389,900 in March 2023, a decrease of 8.28 percent. For the first five months of the year, the city has collected $1.58 million, a 3.3 percent increase from $1.53 million for the same time last year.

West Orange is up 11.42 percent for March this year with $144,171, compared to $129,390 last year. The city has $644,745 for the year to date, an increase of 4.61 from the $616,302 for the year to date.

Orange County has a whopping increase in March sales of 29.26 percent with $950,720 this March, compared to $735,487 for March 2023. The county is up a healthy 5.53 percent for the year to date with $3.41 million this year, compared to 3.23 million last year.

Orange County Emergency Services District 3, or the Little Cypress Fire and Rescue Department, is the only special district in the county to collect a sales tax. Voters earlier this month rejected a similar tax for ESD 1, which serves Vidor and the Vidor area. The Little Cypress group collected $30,525 for March, down from $35,033 last year, and is now at $134,466 for the first five months of the year, down from $146,170.