GRAPHIC BY BONNIE LEESE For the sixth month this year, Lometa has posted the largest percentage gain in sales tax receipts. It joins Kempner and Evant in recording the only increases this period among the cities in a six-county region. While the larger entities in the surrounding counties show declines in their local sales tax revenue, the smaller cities continue with gains during a time of economic sluggishness.

Evant joined the Lampasas County communities of Lometa and Kempner in posting the only sales tax increases seen in October among Central Texas-area cities.

And the city of Lampasas had the smallest percentage decrease among those with negative returns this month. Its check this period for $101,053 came within $666 or a little more than a half-percent short of the $101,719 the city collected in October 2008.

October allocations are based on local sales that occurred in August.

Lampasas County remains the only county among those in the surrounding area in which all its cities reflect sales tax increases over last year. Through 10 months of 2009, Lampasas is up 1 percent at $1.05 million; Kempner is up 2 percent at $99,528; and Lometa is up 23 percent at $45,074.

The county also is up 1 percent in terms of year-to-date payments, which total $480,201 for the halfpercent sales tax it levies. The October payment of $44,897 was just $256 shy of what the county collected for the comparable month last year.

Among area cities, Goldthwaite posted the largest percentage decline in October at 9 percent. Total 2009 payments to the Mills County seat stand at $219,393 -- down 2 percent from 2008.

Several cities saw sales tax rebates fall 8 percent this period: Burnet, Marble Falls and San Saba. Their declines for the year are less severe, however.

Burnet, through 10 months, has received sales tax payments that total $1.27 million, or 5 percent less than in 2008; Marble Falls, at $5.09 million, is down 3 percent for the year.

In San Saba, sales taxes of $269,690 have been accumulated this year, just $251 or 0.1 percent less than the $269,941 it accrued to this point in 2008.

Copperas Cove saw its sales tax rebate drop 7 percent in October, but its decline on the year has hovered near 1 percent for most of 2009. The 10-month total for the Coryell County city stands at $2.88 million.

Gatesville, also in Coryell County, posted a 3 percent decrease in sales taxes this month, which matches its 3 percent decrease in year-to-date alloca- tions. Thus far in 2009 it shows receipts that total $1.28 million.

And the city of Hamilton recorded a 5 percent decline in sales tax receipts for October. Although its neighbor Evant maintains a 10 percent increase over 2008 payments to date, Hamilton has seen this year's total drop almost 3 percent with a 10- month collection of $359,292.

Across the state, local governments showed an average decrease of 7.6 percent in their monthly sales tax allocations, according to the state comptroller. For the calendar year, rebates are down 4 percent compared to 2008.