City Of Tulsa Reports Stagnant Sales Tax Revenue For May

New sales tax numbers point to signs of a stagnant Tulsa economy.

From mid-March to mid-April, Tulsa collected about $19.3 million. That's up only 1.2 percent from the same time period last year, and about 2.4 percent below budget estimates.

“Although sales taxes are not down for May, collections remain relatively flat and we will continue to monitor our forecasts and collections,” Mayor Dewey Bartlett said. “The City of Tulsa remains under a hiring freeze until the end of the fiscal year, and a prudent budget was proposed to the City Council last week for FY 13-14 that allows the City of Tulsa to live within our means and keeps public safety and core services at the focus of the budget.”

For the fiscal year, so far, the City has received about 5 percent more in sales tax than the same period last year. That's about 1.5 lower than budget estimates.