County, Bridge City see strong 2024 sales tax funds

Sales tax payments to the cities, Orange County, and one special district left the county and Bridge City with year-end increases from 2023, however, the city of Orange was down $2 million in sales tax revenues.

Orange County collected $520,000 more during the calendar year, with Bridge City getting $160,000 more. The city of West Orange had $25,000 more, while Pinehurst collected $42,500 more for the year. Vidor received $30,000 more for the year. Orange County Emergency Services District 3, the only special district in the county with a sales tax, was almost stagnant.

The Texas Comptroller's Office sent the entities their returns from October earlier in December.

Orange County has a half-percent sales tax, or half a penny per dollar. In December, the county received $785,440, up from $521,428 for the same month in 2023. The county ended the year with $8.52 million, up from $8 million last year, an increase of 6.5 percent.

Bridge City has a 1.5 percent sales tax, or 1.5 pennies for every dollar. The city in December got $188,605, up $166,276 from the same month last year. The city had a 7.33 percent increase for this year with $2.4 million, compared to $2.24 million last year.

Orange also has a 1.5 percent sales tax and collected $7.36 million for the calendar year, compared to $9.33 million for 2023, which is a decrease of 21.12 percent. The drop could have been worse except for strong October sales. For the month, the city collected $545,390, compared to $440,000 for the same month last year.

City Manager Mike Kuntz said the city's 2024-25 fiscal year budget was cut because of the decrease in sales taxes and a decrease in property taxes because of plant closings.

Pinehurst had strong sales after seeing decreases in sales tax income during recent years. The city ended up with $708,000 for the year, compared to $665,500 last year, a 6.4 percent increase. In December, the city got $54,470, up from $52,445 for the same month last year. The city has a 1.5 percent sales tax.

Vidor also has a 1.5 percent sales tax and collected $3.8 million for the year, up slightly from $3.77 million last year. The city's monthly payment was for $289,000, compared to $274,430 last year.

West Orange got $1.7 million for the calendar yer, up from $1.45 million, an increase of 15.74 percent. The city received $168,300 in December, an increase from $110,227 last year. The city has a 1.5 percent sales tax.

Emergency Services District 3 for the Little Cypress Fire and Rescue Department, has a 1.5 percent sales tax. The district got $31,442 in December for a the year's total of $337,160, down slightly from $339,735 last year.