Retailer Blues

Today's links to the Sac Bee focus on retail sales--which as most of you know are not only the lifeblood of our economy, but really important to us in local government. Sales tax is responsible for 25 percent of our general fund revenue.

As I receive information on our revenues, I always pass them on to the readers. Today, I don't have any Manteca-specific information, but I do have some interesting news to demonstrate the horrific condition of our state economy.

There will be 15 smaller cities in the state (including nearby Ripon) who won't be receiving their next sales tax payment! These cities allocation was too high last quarter, and the adjustment to this quarter's payment completely wipes out their allocation. In fact over half of the cities in the state will be getting a readjustment due to last quarter's lackluster sales. Luckily, here in Manteca we are not one of them. To read more about this situation, click here.

In a related note, click here for a story that basically tells some personal stories of why sales taxes are dropping so quickly.