Sales Tax Revenues Continue Upward Trend for City of Wenatchee
Sales tax revenues in the City of Wenatchee are up in the first quarter of 2022.
Mayor Frank Kuntz says he expects the city to expand upon a milestone for tax revenues it first achieved last year.
“We continue to trend above last year,” explained Kuntz. “(We’re) still over $1 million a month which we hadn’t hit until sometime last year, so I think overall the city is doing fine.”
Despite the upward trend, Kuntz says a majority of the tax revenues being generated in the region remain outside the city limits.
“The city’s up three or four percent and that’s great, but Douglas County’s up 48 percent. So our region is doing really well (and) the city is up, but not near(ly) as much as the other municipalities in our region – at least the two counties.”
Kuntz adds that while inflation may be hurting consumers in the Valley, it is helping to pad the city’s tax revenues, since its tax base is established based on retail pricing.
Kuntz also says he doesn’t see the city’s tax revenues slowing any time soon, but if that were to happen, he’s confident Wenatchee’s current $1.6 million rainy day fund would be more than enough to keep it afloat financially.