By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
Sales tax revenues for the city of Hays in 2020 were up more than 3 percent despite the havoc created by the coronavirus pandemic locally and across the nation.
A report last week to the Hays City Commission by Kim Rupp, city finance director, indicated collections ended the year at $7,641,323, up $230,085, or 3.1 percent.
Early in 2020 with the onset of the pandemic, Rupp and Toby Dougherty, city manager, assumed there might be a revenue loss of up to 20 percent.
"That's what the state of Kansas was projecting," Dougherty said. "There was a lot of uncertainties out there.
"We made a lot of tactical reductions in reductions in spending in preparation for that."
Instead, the pandemic turned out to be a benefit from a sales city sales tax perspective, according to Dougherty.
"More people stayed at home (in Hays) and shopped at home, so we finished the year pretty good."
Nearly 60 percent of the city's general fund is financed by a 1.25 percent sales tax levied on goods and some services.
The general fund pays for city services including police, fire, streets, parks, swimming pools and the municipal golf course. It also provides funding to outside agencies including Grow Hays (economic development), United Way CARE Council and Fort Hays State University City of Hays Scholarships.
Most of the city's funds finished the year in good shape, except for the transient guest tax.
"It's really the only area where we took a significant hit," Dougherty said.
With fewer people traveling in 2020, fewer people stayed in Hays hotels.
"The transient guest tax was down, 25 to 28 percent, I believe, over what our adjusted budget amount was. So, it was down significantly."
A 2 percent increase in the transient guest tax two years ago is earmarked for partial funding of the North Vine Street Corridor Improvement Project.