City of Cortez sales-tax-revenue collections are the best they’ve been in five years, all because area residents are shopping local rather than heading out of town to Farmington or Durango to shop for groceries, alcohol or pot.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO TELL THE CORTEZ FINANCE DIRECTOR ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF BUYING LOCAL, ESPECIALLY DURING A PANDEMIC. YOU'RE WATCHING THE LOCAL NEWS NETWORK, BROUGHT TO YOU BY KEESEE MOTORS. I'M WENDY GRAHAM SETTLE. WHILE THE PANDEMIC MAY BE DEVASTATING THE RESTAURANT AND LODGING INDUSTRIES IN SOUTHWEST COLORADO, RETAIL SALES HAVE REMAINED ROBUST IN MONTEZUMA COUNTY. CITY OF CORTEZ FINANCE DIRECTOR BEN BURKETT REPORTED AT THE END OF JULY THAT CITY SALES TAX REVENUES HAD INCREASED BY MORE THAN NINE PERCENT OVER THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR, AND RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA SALES TAX REVENUES INCREASED BY NEARLY 25 PERCENT. SALES TAX REVENUES ALSO INCREASED THIS YEAR OVER LAST DURING THE STAY-AT-HOME MONTHS OF MARCH, APRIL AND MAY AT THE START OF THE PANDEMIC. AND AUGUST RETAIL SALES ARE EXPECTED TO BE ROBUST AS WELL. BURKETT SAID APPARENTLY STAY-AT-HOME ORDERS IN MONTEZUMA COUNTY RESULTED IN SHOP-AT-HOME BEHAVIORS AMONG RESIDENTS WHO MAY HAVE CURBED THEIR TRIPS TO FARMINGTON OR DURANGO.
WE HAVE A FUN ACRONYM CALLED WAG, WEED, ALCOHOL, AND GROCERIES. AND FRANKLY, I BELIEVE THAT'S WHAT WE'RE SEEING. THE HIGH GROWTH IN OUR MARIJUANA SALES TAX COLLECTIONS ARE FRANKLY, THROUGH THE ROOF, A BIG INCREASE THERE. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S LOCAL OR FROM PEOPLE TRAVELING THROUGH, BECAUSE I BELIEVE THERE'S A LOT MORE RVers COMING TO THE AREA. SO I THINK IT'S COMBO OF THAT. GROCERIES? WE DEFINITELY SAW A MAJOR INCREASE, ESPECIALLY EARLY ON WITH COVID HAPPENING. WE SAW A LARGE DECREASE TO RESTAURANT SALES AND SERVICE INDUSTRIES, BUT SOME OF THAT DECREASE WAS MADE UP BY THE, YOU KNOW, THE CITY MARKET, THE SAFEWAY AND WALMARTS WITH GROCERIES. THERE WE ARE. BURKETT ALSO SPECULATED THAT CHANGING HABITS AND LIFESTYLES, AS WELL AS A FEW CANCELED VACATIONS DURING THE PANDEMIC, MAY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE INCREASE IN RETAIL SALES. BIKE SHOPS REPORTED ONE OF THEIR BEST SALES YEAR'S EVER. AND RESIDENTS MAY HAVE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF THE STAY-AT-HOME ORDERS TO TACKLE HOME MAINTENANCE PROJECTS.
I KNOW WHEN I HAVE GONE OUT MYSELF FOR DIFFERENT SPORTING GOODS, EQUIPMENT, OR WHATNOT, LIKE FISHING ITEMS, IT'S EMPTY, THEY'RE GONE, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE I THINK THERE'S A LOT MORE PEOPLE WHO ARE CHANGING THEIR DOWNTIME TO RECREATIONAL AND NEEDING THE OUTLET FROM BEING COOPED UP THAT THEY'RE FINDING OTHER HOBBIES AND TRYING THEM OUT WITH ALL THAT. I THINK PEOPLE TRAVELING ARE TRAVELING LESS IN GENERAL, SO THEIR MONEY IS BEING SPENT FOR OTHER THINGS. YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, I HAVE LOOKED AT A FEW OF THE CATEGORIES OF LET'S SAY, HOME BUILDING AND FARM EQUIPMENT, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT THEIR SAY SOME OF THOSE SALES ARE STRONGER THAN WHAT I'VE SEEN IN YEARS PAST, LOOKING AT THE DATA. ALTHOUGH THE TOURISM INDUSTRY IN SOUTHWEST COLORADO HAD EXPECTED TO TAKE A BIG ECONOMIC HIT WITH THE PANDEMIC, VISITORS STILL CAME TO THE AREA, BUT THEY CAME IN RECREATIONAL VEHICLES OR CHOSE TO CAMP DURING THEIR TRIPS. AS A RESULT, LODGERS TAX REVENUES HAD DROPPED BY 52 PERCENT THIS YEAR OVER LAST.
AND I DO THINK WE ARE SEEING A DRAMATIC INCREASE IN RV VISITS HERE. HOWEVER, WHAT'S ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE IS THEN, OUR LODGERS TAX, IT'S DRAMATICALLY DOWN. IT'S 40 TO 60 PERECENT DOWN MONTH OVER MONTH FROM WHAT IT REALLY SHOULD BE.DESPITE THE BETTER-THAN-EXPECTED PERFORMANCE IN RETAIL SALES, BURKETT SAID THE CITY WILL CONTINUE TO BUDGET CONSERVATIVELY IN ANTICIPATION OF A RECESSION DURING THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 2020 AND A SLOW ECONOMIC RECOVERY THROUGH 2022. IF YOU'D LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT RETAIL SALES REVENUES, VISIT THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT'S WEB PAGE AT CITY OF CORTEZ DOT COM. CAN'T GET ENOUGH? LISTEN TO YOUR LOCAL NEWS NETWORK ANY TIME, ANY WHERE ON YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST APP. THANKS FOR WATCHING THE LOCAL NEWS NETWORK. I'M WENDY GRAHAM SETTLE.
