Unexpected Positive Financial News for Fayette Co.

At last Thursday’s Commissioners Court meeting, County Auditor Kathy Kleiber reported a bit of surprising good news about the recent economic effects of the COVID-19 crisis: year-to-date sales tax receipts are actually up compared to the same time period last year.

So far this year, the Fayette County government has collected about $892,000 in sales tax revenue. That’s slightly up from the roughly $865,000 collected up to the same point last year.

“That’s what really surprised me,” Kleiber said.

By now, any effects in retail sales due to the coronavirus shut down should have appeared in the latest sales tax numbers. She wasn’t sure why sales tax receipts increased. Kleiber speculated that shoppers from Bastrop, Brenham and other surrounding areas may have boosted the local numbers due to shortages at stores in those towns during the early weeks of the crisis.

She also noted that toilet paper is a taxable product. Panic buying of that product could have boosted sales tax receipts as well.

Overall, year-to-date County revenue is still down more than $600,000 compared to the same time period last year. Kleiber said much of the revenue deficit comes from a decrease in fine and fee collections. Sheriff’s deputies and Department of Public Safety troopers greatly curtailed traffic stops as the pandemic reached Texas back in March. They only recently resumed normal traffic enforcement. Almost no traffic tickets were written during April and May.

As a result, local Justice of the Peace courts have collected just $197,000 so far this year, compared to $269,000 at the same point last year.

As the months progress, the County could see some other revenue shortfalls. The EMS department’s recent financial reports show a dip in call volume over the last few months. That could be due to fewer accidents and injuries as a large portion of the population was staying home from work and travel. It often takes weeks or months after an ambulance trip before the patient’s insurance company pays the ambulance bill. Accordingly, the financial effects of the dip in EMS call volume may not appear until later this year.

Also at Thursday’s meeting, County resident Eugene Niemeyer spoke during the public comment period. Niemeyer asked when the County employed an engineer or inspector to oversee contractors at construction projects, such as the recent construction of the beleaguered Fayette County EMS Headquarters.

“I’ve worked on a lot of construction projects in my day,” Niemeyer said. “Whether it was a state job, a federal job or a private job, there was always somebody there to see that it was done right. Like for pouring concrete, to make sure there was the right amount of sand, cement and gravel in each pour.”

County Judge Joe Weber said the County does not have an employee who exclusively inspects such projects. He advised Niemeyer that the Commissioners could not have a discussion about items that were not on the meeting agenda. Weber thanked Niemeyer for his comments and said he and the commissioners would take them into consideration.

Niemeyer also spoke about a dispute between him and Union Pacific Railroad. At a meeting last month, Niemeyer told commissioners that many years ago the railroad company built a bridge across a creek near his property in Plum. When that bridge got old and needed to be replaced, the railroad company opted instead to install large culverts to allow water to pass underneath the tracks. Over the years, he said, the railroad company has modified the culvert crossing to the point where it now serves more as a dam than as a bridge.

As a result, Niemeyer said, his property often floods. Niemeyer said he has not been able to get any help from the railroad company and did not know how to seek relief other than filing a lawsuit.

Weber said he would look into the issue and asked Niemeyer to visit his office after the meeting to further discuss the problem.