That’s reflected in sales-tax figures just released by the state comptroller and the city.
The state collects sales taxes for Bell County and Temple, as well as for other counties and cities, then returns their portion monthly.
The check, though, is generally two months late, so final sales figures for 2007 are only now available.
Shoppers in Temple spent about 7 percent more in 2007 than in 2006.
“That’s right,” said Ken Higdon, president of the Temple Chamber of Commerce. “We did get those fourth-quarter numbers in, and there’s growth all over the city.”
He suggested some may have been driven by the opening before Christmas of Bird Creek Crossing in southwest Temple.
Bird Creek contains a new Home Depot, a new Target, a new PetSmart, a new Best Buy and a new Michael’s.
But, City Manager David Blackburn said it’s too early to define exactly what impact the shopping center has had, particularly because of the effects of traffic gridlock at times during the holidays caused by construction on Interstate 35.
“Based on our review of the data, it’s premature to make any assumptions about the impact of that development,” he said.
Blackburn recently visited with the developers of Bird Creek, and he said they were satisfied with sales so far and that business met their expectations.
Nevertheless, the 7 percent increase over the previous year is just more good news about 2007 and Temple. Earlier, it was reported that home sales were also up in Temple year over year.
“As retail continues to grow and you see more people hired, they reinvest their salaries into the economy and give it a good stimulus,” Higdon said. “You see more dollars in retail, and you’ll see more retail come in.”
For almost 15 straight years, sales have grown year over year in Temple, according to the city’s finance department.
In 2006, sales grew by about 7 percent over 2005.
The city received $15.4 million in sales tax returns from the state in 2007, compared to $14.9 million in 2006.
That money goes into the city’s budget.
But, Blackburn said he’s always conservative when budgeting for a change in sales tax revenue.
For 2008, for example, the city is anticipating an increase of 3.23 percent, half of the actual amount of increase seen in 2007 over 2006.
Temple residents pay a sales tax levy of .5 percent to the county; of 1.5 percent to the city; and of 6.25 percent to the state. So the state collects a total of 8.25 percent or 8.25 cents of every $1 spent on taxable items.
Only 14 states have a higher combined levy.
