Just about everywhere you look in Cortez, business is on the rise.
Total sales tax was up 2.26 percent overall from 2010 to 2011, according to city of Cortez Finance Director Kathi Moss.
Big R manager Tim Weyers said he noticed a steady increase from 2010 at his store.
Were not tremendously up, but were there, Weyers said.
The increase in business has Weyers looking forward to the months ahead.
It looks like it could be a good summer, he said.
The numbers tell the story, and its an easy one to read. According to the year-end sales tax report, every 2011 month showed an increase from the previous year, with the exception of June, which was down 1.03 percent. Moss said the numbers can get skewed due to the difference between actual vendor sales and when they pay their sales tax. If a vendor is late, the numbers are off.
January 2011 was the best sales tax month with total sales tax over $842,400, up 2.2 percent. February, the lowest month of the year at $598,000, was still up almost 10 percent from 2010. June brought in $740,807, nearly $8,000 less than the previous year.
July, at the height of the summer tourism season, rose 3 percent over 2010 to $820,000.
August was down just 0.9 percent while September saw a 4.2 percent bump.
Moss said its a little tricky to follow the numbers month to month, as vendor monthly sales reports may differ with when sales tax is collected. She said sales tax from one month trickles in to the following month, which is a big reason why January is the highest producing month.
There are ways to read numbers to predict upcoming months, said Dena Guttridge, director of the Cortez Area Chamber of Commerce.
Whatever the trend with auto sales, everything else seems to follow suit and it was drastically up, Guttridge said. Up more than 12 percent over 2010.
Moss was quick to point out that a good portion of auto related tax revenues come from registration fees and is hard to pin down per month since people have different times of getting tags.
The chamber is hoping for a good summer, based on the 2011 reports, Guttridge said.
Restaurant sales curve up along with the mercury as visitors flock into the Four Corners as do retail goods and services.
July and August numbers were down in auto sales tax and home improvement dollars. July was down 11.5 percent and August 6.65 percent in auto sales tax while home improvement was down about 7.5 percent between the two months. The numbers evened out with a sharp 7 percent spike in retail goods and services for July and 1.3 percent rise in August from big box stores like Walmart, City Market and Safeway.
Restaurants hit their high mark at more than $92,000 in sales tax for August.
As spring winds blow in, so do the visitors. From May through September, Cortez saw plenty of guests passing through its business district.
Glenn and Gregg Leighton own Notah Dineh. The brothers sell Native American art at their downtown Cortez location, and its been their familys business for more than 50 years.
Fall is a strong season, but we get all the summer travelers, Leighton said. Theres just so many attractions here. Youve got mountain bikers going to Moab (Utah) or the mountains, plus everything thats right here. People like the archaeology and need a gift to take home.
Leighton said his specialty business also draws Native American shoppers from Arizona, Utah and New Mexico, especially in summer.
Its nice here, Leighton said. People come up from the desert. They like to come up here, especially in the summer. The parks are pretty darn busy if you look at them. Its all part of our economy.
Guttridge said soaring gas prices may not be a bad thing for the area come summertime.
When gas prices rise its usually not a bad thing for this particular economy, she said. People come in on the bus more and get dropped off and spend money with our local retailers, where if they were driving in cars they would tend to drive right through to their destination.
Guttridge said that lodging reservations start picking up as soon as the sun starts sticking around.
It usually right before spring break, Guttridge said. People get spring fever and start making plans and reservations.
Reach Brandon Mathis at [email protected]
