http://66.225.205.104/LM20101004.mp3
Mecklenburg County sales tax collections aren't great, but they're beating budgeters' expectations. The county's sales tax collections last year actually beat mid-year projections by nearly $10 million. It was March when the county had to cut millions from its budget including initial cuts to the libraries. That's because sales tax collections dropped off significantly. The county revised its sales tax estimates. Officials expected to end the year with $144 million, but ended up with $153 million. The final figures came in last month. Commissioners planned this year's budget and all the cuts that came with it based on those low numbers. Finance Director Dena Dioro says the county wants to avoid a third round of mid-year cuts. "That provides us some additional cushion in the event the economy doesn't sustain where it is right now," says Diorio. "If we see retail sales fall, we won't have issues with our budget like we did in fiscal year 2010." Diorio says if sales collections continue to be better than projections there might be some mid-year budget additions.