Sales continue drop in Orange but up in county

The city of Orange continues to see big drops in sales tax returns while other cities, plus the county, are seeing sales tax increases for the year.

The Texas Comptroller has sent the sales tax payments to the entities, which mainly use the sales tax incomes for general operations.

Orange County has a half cent per dollar sales tax and is up for the calendar year, receiving a total of $7.73 million compared to $7.5 million for the same time last year. That's an increase of 3.39. However, the county was down 6.74 percent from September this year, getting $666,506 this year compared to $714,733 last year.

The city of Orange, with a 1.5 percent sales tax, dropped 11.23 percent for the month of September with $722,310 for this year and $813,718 for September 2023. The city is down 23.35 percent, for the calendar, a loss of more than $2 million. The city is at $6.81 million so far this year compared to $8.89 million this time last year.

Bridge City has a 1.5 percent sales tax and saw a drop in this September compared to September 2023. However, the city is up nearly 7 percent for the year to date. The city got $222,621 for September this year and $236,448 last year. For the year to date, the city is at $2.22 million compared to $2.07 million last year.

West Orange has a 1.5 percent sales tax and went up 34.11 percent for the month with $159,131 this September and $118,655 last September. The city is now at $1.51 million for the calendar year, up 12.71 percent from the $1.34 million for the same time in 2023.

Pinehurst with a 1.5 percent sales tax collected $61,384 for the month, up 2.8 percent from $59,711 last year. The city is up 6.6 percent for the year with $633,503 compared to $613,055 last year.

Vidor has a 1.5 percent sales tax and was up for the month, but is stagnant for the year so far. In September, the city got $384,854 an increase of 6.33 percent from the $361,910 for September 2023. The city is at $3.5 million for the year to date, compared to $3.49 million last year.

Orange County's only special district with a sales tax is OC Emergency Services District 3 for the Little Cypress Fire and Rescue Department. The district has a 1.5 percent sales ta and collected $27,737 for September and is at $305,717 for the year to date.