The City of Great Bend’s sales tax collections for 2020 were the highest they’ve been since 2015, despite the economic downturn brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, City Administrator Kendal Francis said when addressing the City Council Monday night.

“So after our initial projections of doom and gloom, we responded favorably. So thank you to everyone who’s continuing to shop local.”

This money not only bolsters the general fund, but also street projects, economic development, and other capital improvement efforts, he said. “So that’s a great thing.”

According to the Kansas Department of Revenue, Great Bend netted $2,598,079.93 is sales tax revenue last year, which was up 1.7% from 2019’s $2,555,669.32. The total was $2,710,794.87 in the referenced 2015. 

“I know not every city is able to say this,” Francis said. He has not heard a lot from fellow city managers and hasn’t had time to delve into totals from other communities.

However, “your larger cities like Lawrence, Wichita and Kansas City, they’re getting hit hard,” said City Clerk Shawna Schafer, who tracks the city’s sales tax figures. “I contribute that to us not going there to go shopping over the holidays. But those larger cities or college towns like Manhattan are getting hit hard.”

“So we’re fortunate,” Francis said.

This total includes both the city’s half- and quarter-cent sales taxes, Schafer said.

However, not factored in is city’s portion of the Barton County-wide sales tax. This tax is divvied up among the county and the nine cities in the county using a formula that factors in the amount of property tax each entity collects, said county Finance Officer Matt Patzner.

Barton County took in $4,717,663.88 in 2020, $4,696,758.81 in 2019 and $4,997,211.53 in 2015.