GRAPHIC BY BONNIE LEESE With Texas cities showing an average sales tax decline of almost 9 percent this month, all entities in the Central Texas area posted better returns than that in July. Sales tax rebates remain positive for Lampasas County entities, as the county and all three incorporated cities recorded gains in July.

The city of Lampasas posted a 2 percent increase in July with its check for $105,116. The payment represents taxes collected on local sales in May that were reported to the state comptroller's office in June.

The only month this year the city has failed to see a percentage increase was January, when the sales tax rebate fell 2 percent.

Through seven months, Lampasas' total receipts of $732,944 are 3 percent -- or more than $21,000 -- ahead of the comparable period in 2008.

Lometa and Kempner each had double-digit gains in July: Lometa at 12 percent and Kempner with a 24 percent jump over July of last year. Their sales tax payments this month were $4,441 and $11,607, respectively.

Both also show economic growth to this point in 2009. Lometa holds the highest year-todate percentage increase of any neighboring city at 21 percent; Kempner has a sales tax total that is up 7 percent over 2008.

Lampasas County rebounded from a 2 percent dip in sales taxes last month to report a 1 percent gain. Its July payment of $48,742 gives the county a 2009 total of $332,906 -- up 2 percent from last year.

The only city in the surrounding counties to reflect a year-to- date gain in sales tax collections is Evant. Its collections have grown 9 percent compared to last year's rebate totals. It also had the largest monthly gain in July at 28 percent.

Its neighbor, the city of Hamilton, saw sales taxes decline 7 percent this month, however. And through July 2009, the sales tax payments to Hamilton have slipped 5 percent this year, down from $255,248 to $242,421.

In Coryell County, Copperas Cove recorded a 6 percent drop this period. Its check for $248,143 brings the payments to date to just over $2 million, a 1 percent dip from the $2.03 million received in 2008.

Gatesville garnered just $200 more this month than it did in July of last year to give the city a negligible 0.1 percent increase. Year-to-date sales taxes are down 2 percent, however, at $896,875.

In Burnet County, Marble Falls posted its first monthly increase since January with a 1 percent gain, although sister city Burnet recorded a 4 percent decline in sales taxes. Both entities have failed to keep pace with last year's totals, as Burnet has slipped behind by 6 percent from 2008, while Marble Falls trails by just 2 percent.

The city of Goldthwaite collected $22,126 this month, for a July sales tax gain of 10 percent. For 2009, however, Goldthwaite shows a slight decrease as its receipts have dropped from a total of $154,104 to $153,058.

San Saba has a similar 1 percent decline in sales tax for the year. Its total stands at $188,886. In July, its check for $26,218 was only $42 more than San Saba received for July 2008.

Across the state, Texas cities showed an average decline this month of almost 9 percent. The comptroller's office attributed this drop to weakness in the oil and gas, construction and retail trade sectors.