What happened: The City of Midland collected nearly $6 million in sales tax revenue in September, pushing Fiscal Year 2025 totals to $68.9 million. September 2025 saw a 15.3% increase compared to September 2024. FY 25 collected 2.7% more in sales tax than FY 24, resulting in a $1.8 million increase. The city reported that FY 25 received $3.9 million more is sales tax than they’d budgeted for the year.

Why it matters: Midland depends heavily on sales tax revenue to fund city services. For FY 25, the city budgeted $76.5 million from property taxes and $65 million from sales tax. Unlike property taxes, which can rise even if a homeowner hasn’t made improvements, sales tax is a consumption tax. That means people pay more only when they spend more, making it a fairer system, but also more volatile since it fluctuates with the economy.

Catch up quick: Sales tax revenue is distributed by the state based on sales from two months prior. So, September’s allocation reflects July spending. The City of Midland receives 1 cent for every $100 of the sales tax collected within city limits. Fiscal Year 2025 is the largest collection year in the previous four years.

Go deeper: To put it in perspective, the city’s combined police and fire budget is $96.2 million. Even if every dollar of sales tax went to public safety, it would still fall short of covering the current cost.

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