News
City officials: Shop locally
Thelma Grimes/San pedro Valley News-Sun
In a budget update to the Benson City Council last week, Finance Director Jim Cox stressed that with decreasing sales tax numbers, it is very important that residents shop locally.
Presenting budget information for the month of August, Cox described city sales tax numbers as "sluggish," down $31,000, a 14 percent decrease from the same time last year.
Looking at the big picture, Cox said, "The numbers say there is no sign that there is any economic recovery occurring. We didn't go as deep into recession as our sister cities, but there are no signs yet that we are coming out of it."
During the annual economic luncheon in Benson, Robert Carreira, the director for the Cochise College Center for Economic Research, had the same sentiments, stating things are still bad, but will likely not get any worse.
Decreasing sales tax numbers appear to be a trend that may occur for an unspecified amount of time. According to figures provided by Carreira, in all of 2008, the City of Benson collected $3.5 million in sales tax revenue. This is a 7.1 percent, or $267,000 decrease from the year before.
However, the decline may not be from lagging retail sales, but instead the drop in construction and real estate sales in Benson. Real estate, leasing and rentals dropped 74 percent in 2008.
Getting an exact picture of how retail sales are really doing in Benson is tough, according to Carreira, and is also a reason why some residents travel outside the city to shop.
Carreira explained that Benson has a two-tiered retail sales tax structure, charging a 2.5 percent sales tax for food. Cities such as Tucson and Phoenix have a much lower sales tax rate.
Even with Wal-Mart's opening in 2006, it is still not unusual for residents to travel to Tucson or Sierra Vista for groceries. Numerous Benson residents are grocery shopping at Fry's super store off Houghton Road in east Tucson.
But shopping for lower prices elsewhere, Cox and other city officials continue to stress, hurts the community.
"It is absolutely life critical that residents shop in town," Cox said. "The primary revenue source for our general fund is sales tax revenue. The general fund pays for the library, parks, and for police and fire protection."
Vice Mayor Toney King said he encourages residents to shop locally.
"We need to make sure we keep our citizens shopping in Benson,' he said. "The reality is they are spending the same amount or more on gas. I am encouraging all the citizens of Benson to shop locally."
Gas prices are also a lot higher in Benson than elsewhere in Southern Arizona. Residents buying groceries at Fry's in Tucson may also be tempted to fill up there as well. While gas prices at the Tucson station ranged between $2.15 and $2.25 over the last several months, prices in Benson ranged between $2.30 and $2.50 a gallon.
Fry's is also offering customers incentives to shop at the super store and fill up at the nearby gas station. For every $100 spent inside the grocery story, customers are given a 10-cent per gallon reduction on gas. Someone using that incentive, last week would have paid $2.09 a gallon for regular unleaded.
Residents have questioned gas prices and the food tax for years in Benson, and with the slowing economy, they are still asking if prices will go down.
In the meantime, Cox said the city will keep doing what it takes to survive.
"The city is responding with controlled expenditures," he said. "We can survive in this climate so long as we have no unexpected expenses. We hope we can keep swimming through this recession and hold it together until things get better."
Carreira said the silver lining for Benson is that retail sales numbers, despite the decreases between 2007 and now, are up at least 30 percent since 2005. This is due to Wal-Mart's opening in 2006.
In a budget update to the Benson City Council last week, Finance Director Jim Cox stressed that with decreasing sales tax numbers, it is very important that residents shop locally.
Presenting budget information for the month of August, Cox described city sales tax numbers as "sluggish," down $31,000, a 14 percent decrease from the same time last year.
Looking at the big picture, Cox said, "The numbers say there is no sign that there is any economic recovery occurring. We didn't go as deep into recession as our sister cities, but there are no signs yet that we are coming out of it."
During the annual economic luncheon in Benson, Robert Carreira, the director for the Cochise College Center for Economic Research, had the same sentiments, stating things are still bad, but will likely not get any worse.
Decreasing sales tax numbers appear to be a trend that may occur for an unspecified amount of time. According to figures provided by Carreira, in all of 2008, the City of Benson collected $3.5 million in sales tax revenue. This is a 7.1 percent, or $267,000 decrease from the year before.
However, the decline may not be from lagging retail sales, but instead the drop in construction and real estate sales in Benson. Real estate, leasing and rentals dropped 74 percent in 2008.
Getting an exact picture of how retail sales are really doing in Benson is tough, according to Carreira, and is also a reason why some residents travel outside the city to shop.
Carreira explained that Benson has a two-tiered retail sales tax structure, charging a 2.5 percent sales tax for food. Cities such as Tucson and Phoenix have a much lower sales tax rate.
Even with Wal-Mart's opening in 2006, it is still not unusual for residents to travel to Tucson or Sierra Vista for groceries. Numerous Benson residents are grocery shopping at Fry's super store off Houghton Road in east Tucson.
But shopping for lower prices elsewhere, Cox and other city officials continue to stress, hurts the community.
"It is absolutely life critical that residents shop in town," Cox said. "The primary revenue source for our general fund is sales tax revenue. The general fund pays for the library, parks, and for police and fire protection."
Vice Mayor Toney King said he encourages residents to shop locally.
"We need to make sure we keep our citizens shopping in Benson,' he said. "The reality is they are spending the same amount or more on gas. I am encouraging all the citizens of Benson to shop locally."
Gas prices are also a lot higher in Benson than elsewhere in Southern Arizona. Residents buying groceries at Fry's in Tucson may also be tempted to fill up there as well. While gas prices at the Tucson station ranged between $2.15 and $2.25 over the last several months, prices in Benson ranged between $2.30 and $2.50 a gallon.
Fry's is also offering customers incentives to shop at the super store and fill up at the nearby gas station. For every $100 spent inside the grocery story, customers are given a 10-cent per gallon reduction on gas. Someone using that incentive, last week would have paid $2.09 a gallon for regular unleaded.
Residents have questioned gas prices and the food tax for years in Benson, and with the slowing economy, they are still asking if prices will go down.
In the meantime, Cox said the city will keep doing what it takes to survive.
"The city is responding with controlled expenditures," he said. "We can survive in this climate so long as we have no unexpected expenses. We hope we can keep swimming through this recession and hold it together until things get better."
Carreira said the silver lining for Benson is that retail sales numbers, despite the decreases between 2007 and now, are up at least 30 percent since 2005. This is due to Wal-Mart's opening in 2006.
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