February sales tax rebates showed mixed results for area cities. Kempner claimed the highest percentage gain this month, followed by Burnet; Lometa saw the largest percentage decline, after having posted the top increase in January. Central Texas cities showed mixed sales tax results in February.

While the city of Lampasas posted a 6 percent gain and Kempner saw an 18 percent jump, Lometa recorded a 21 percent decline in this month’s sales tax receipts.

For Lampasas, February marks the fourth consecutive month of gains and the largest percentage increase since March 2009. The city holds a two-month 2010 sales tax total of $240,308, which is up 5 percent from the same period last year.

Kempner’s 18 percent gain this month and its 28 percent gain in January give it a total of $17,723 for the year. Those sales tax rebates have topped the 2009 cumulative amount by almost 23 percent.

The February decrease seen in Lometa, however, erases the 36 percent gain it saw in January and leaves the city trailing 2009 by 21 percent. Lometa’s 2010 sales tax total stands at $10,404 thus far.

February payments to local government entities are based primarily on sales made in December. Across the state, the February allocations were down an average of 6 percent compared to distributions to Texas cities for the same period in 2009.

Apart from Lometa, the only other area entity to record a large decline this month was Goldthwaite, whose February payment dropped 12 percent. Although it had a 10 percent increase to start the year, its sales tax revenues now have dipped 4 percent below those of last year to $50,647.

Smaller declines were seen this month in Marble Falls (down 5 percent), San Saba (down 3 percent) and Copperas Cove (down 1 percent).

Marble Falls has not posted a sales tax increase since August 2009, and for 2010 its cumulative receipts trail those of last year by 8 percent. The city’s two-month total of $1.02 million, however, remains the largest of any entity in the neighboring counties.

Despite its slight decrease in February, Copperas Cove maintains a 2 percent advantage in cumulative sales taxes when compared to the first two months of 2009. Its 2010 total is $629,227.

San Saba’s payments to date of $61,666 have slipped below those of last year by approximately $3,100 or 5 percent.

Among area cities that recorded gains in February, Kempner’s 18 percent rise was the highest, followed by the 13 percent increase in Burnet. Payments to date for 2010 total $260,646 in the neighboring city, to give Burnet a 5 percent edge over last year’s sales tax receipts.

Evant had a 5 percent gain this period. Its February check for $2,974 gives the city a $4,415 total for the year -- up slightly from the $4,346 it collected in 2009.

The city of Hamilton received $635 more this month than it did in February 2009, for a 1 percent increase, but that was not enough to erase the 36 percent drop Hamilton saw in January. For the year, its sales tax revenues are down 14 percent at $70,505.

Gatesville also had a small percentage gain this month -- 2 percent -- but it has maintained sales taxes at a level 5 percent above what it received through February of last year. The Coryell County seat has a two-month total of $294,466 for 2010.

Texas counties saw their sales tax allocations slip an average of 15 percent this period, compared to last February. But for Lampasas County, the sales tax numbers have remained steady.

The county received a check this month for $62,017, which reflects a 6 percent increase for February and a 6 percent cumulative gain over 2009. Year-to-date receipts stand at $109,841 for the half-percent tax levied on local sales.