Oil Loss Still Depressing Local Sales Tax Revenue
By LARRY JACKSON You never miss what you never had. So some believe, at least. But communities that once had lots of oil-related business are certainly missing sales tax revenue they once enjoyed. Other towns, that never had all that much oil, are happy with the slow but steady gains of the overall economy.
That seems to be the case both in the Fayette County area and the state as a whole.
At the halfway mark for 2016, of the nine area counties tracked by the Record, six have received less sales tax revenue this year than last. Fayette is down 13.3 percent from a year ago. In fact, the $853,764 Fayette received for the first six months of the year is the lowest sales tax revenue in four years.
It’s been far worse for Gonzales County, the heart of the Eagle Ford Shale activity that was fueling ballooning expansion just a few years ago.
Back in 2010, Gonzales County had less than $307,000 for the first six months of the year. As the Eagle Ford boom began, that shot to over $660,000 in the first half of 2011, then to $1.5 million the first half of 2012. It held strong in 2012 and 2013, and even grew to $1.9 million in 2014.
But those days are past. The first half of 2016 is down 45 percent from the first half of 2015.
Flatonia was the first part of Fayette County to experience an Eagle Ford boom. With less than $96,000 for the first half of 2010, Flatonia’s sales tax shot to nearly double that in 2012 – more than $186,000. It continued about that level in 2013 and 2014, but then started dropping.
It’s not that the Eagle Ford Shale doesn’t have oil any more. The problem is price – what the oil will bring on the world market. When that dropped from over $100 a barrel to something near $30, rigs and crews were laid off everywhere. In early June, the price hit $50 a barrel, but most say it will have to go considerably higher before exploration work resumes.
Places like Bastrop County, affected more by Austin’s growth than fracking’s growth, are up from a year ago in sales tax revenue. Of the nine areas counties the Record tracks, Bastrop has the most sales tax, $1.9 million so far this year, up 10 percent.
In Fayette County, La Grange is still impacted heavily by Halliburton closing its facility here. And that won’t be coming back. Halliburton has its 6-acre site and 16,500-square-foot building on South Reynolds Street up for public auction on June 29.
For the first half of this year, La Grange got $967,202 in sales tax. That’s the lowest for this time period since the first half of 2012.
The smaller towns in the county, on the other hand, are all up from this time last year.
Schulenburg, where a big Pilot-Flying J truck stop opened the first of this year, is up 18.8 percent from this time last year.
Round Top, with its antiques and upscale retailers, is up 9.4 percent this year.
Flatonia is up 5.4 percent, Carmine up 3.6 percent and Fayetteville 2.1 percent.
Among other towns near Fayette County, Columbus is up 5.3 percent while Giddings is down 7.5 percent and Brenham is down 2.4 percent.
Fayette County Record
127 S. Washington St.
P.O. Box 400
La Grange, TX 78945
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