County sales tax nets big increase from Whinstone

This was the month Milam County has been waiting for so long as sales tax receipts are concerned.

March sales tax rebate checks from Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar showed a whopping 71.46 percent increase to date over the previous year.

“It’s my opinion most of that was due to the construction activities connected with Whinstone,” County Judge Steve Young said.

Whinstone is building a gigantic data center at the former Alcoa’s Rockdale Operations.

(See story, page 1A).

Milam County’s March check was $84,914, up 9.69-percent from March, 2019.

For the year the county has received $485,469, up 71.46 percent over the $283,138 from the first three checks last year.

State Comptroller Glenn Hegar disbursed March sales tax checks last week. March checks represent sales taxes collected in January and reported to the state in February.

The City of Rockdale’s March total was $57,285, up 1.65 percent from $56,355 last March.

For the year, Rockdale is down 0.25 percent, going from $210,195 to $209,652.

The Rockdale Municipal Development District (MDD) is up, both for the month and the year.

The MDD total for March was $30,242. That’s up 3.12 percent from $29,325 in March, 2019.

For the year, the Rockdale MDD is up 7.17 percent, from $100,112 to $107,290.

The City of Cameron received a check for $66,942, down 19.22 percent from $82,874 reported for March, 2019.

For the year, Cameron receipts are down 0.89 percent, from $233,846 to $231,743.

Milano’s March check of $7,759 was up 5.38 percent from the March, 2019, total of $7,363.

For the year, Milano is up 0.67 percent, from $23,717 to $23,876.

Thorndale’s March check was $13,142. That’s up 35.59 percent from $9,692 in March, 2019.

For the year, Thorndale is up 31.43 percent, from $36,943 to $48,556.

Buckholts registered a 6.47-percent decrease for the month. Its March, 2020, check was $1,531, down from the March, 2019, figure of $1,637.

For the year, Buckholts is up 35.31 percent, from $5,136 to $6,950.

The “oil counties” just south of Milam are enjoying outstanding years.

Lee County is up 195.05 percent for the year, increasing from $346,533 in 2019 to $1,022,471 this year.

For the month of March Lee was up 72.97 percent, from $111,211 to $192,366.

It’s also been a good year for Burleson County.

Burleson receipts for the year are $419,745, an increase of 22.93 percent from $341,444 last year.

For the month Burleson went from $101,251 to $150,096, a 48.24 percent increase.