Scioto County’s Revenue took a huge hit thanks to the COVID-19 lockdown. When Governor Mike DeWine ordered all non-essential businesses to close their doors and banned dine-in restaurants, Commissioners knew it was going to cost us dearly. Now, they’ve got the revenue results in for April and it’s a pretty big drop.
Commissioner Bryan Davis said the loss was expected but that commissioners had tried to stay optimistic. “We were hoping we would not see a drastic downturn. It’s a hit.”
Strongly Opposed Shutdown
Back in March, County Commissioner Mike Crabtree strongly criticized the decision to shut down businesses across the state. He said the statewide shutdown of casinos would cost Scioto County $90,000 not to mention the money lost in sales tax revenue due to the shutdown of restaurants and bars. He said the county would lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax revenue and take a huge hit to the general fund. “That ain’t our fault. It’s those numbskulls at the state. They done everything wrong. Now, who’s gonna pay? They should come forward with more money.”
While Scioto County has yet to be hit with the predicted Coronavirus surge, the hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost tax revenue turned out to be spot on.
The Numbers
County sales tax revenue for April was $865598.35. That sounds like a lot of money until you look at the same period last year. Tax revenue for April of 2019 topped a million dollars. Had businesses not shut down, revenue likely would have been even higher this year.
Davis said the county was down $153,188.17 from April of last year. “We didn’t know how big it would be. We’ve been watching an waiting. I’m sure this is a direct result of the COVID downturn.”
Could It Get Worse?
Right now commissioners are holding out hope that May’s numbers aren’t as bad.
Mike Crabtree said, “May could be similar, if not a little more. We’re hopeful it’s not going to be that way or worse.”
Davis said, “Let’s hope April was the worst month. We’ll see. In May, people were just starting to get back to work. I think June could be down as well, people are just starting to get back to work. Things are just starting to open up. People who were laid off and furloughed are not spending.
Positive Signs
Commissioner Davis said there are positive signs things will improve. “I know unemployment claims are dwindling. Hopefully, that bodes well.”
He said the county should have its unemployment numbers at the end of the mont. “We’re at 15%, that puts us 65th in the state.”
The commissioners pointed out that Scioto County tax revenue was way up for the first three months of the year. Up through March, the revenue was up by $300,000 from the previous year.
Davis said, “We’ll see where it goes. We knew this ride is coming. We’re on a roller coaster, we’ll get to the other side. Hopefully, we will see a speed bump and not a mountain here.”
