Sales tax to Barry County cities and counties in May took a significant drop in May after a four-month steady rise.

Total receipts to cities and the county government fell by 8% compared to last May. However, a never-before-seen twist in Washburn made comparisons even more difficult.

The City of Washburn did not receive a sales tax distribution in May. Sales tax is typically wired to cities around the seventh of each month, and a letter is mailed for each tax with details of the distribution.

Clerk Kimmie Stribling learned the city’s bank received no funds in May. She called the Department of Revenue and was told the State Auditor’s office ordered funds to be cut off. Calling that office, Stribling, who has been in her job for 18 months, was told the city failed to file paperwork due on Dec. 31, 2024, and therefore was subject to a $500 a day fine.

Pressing further, Stribling learned the auditor’s office wanted a balance sheet and profit and loss statement from the city, which she emailed immediately. She said she received no explanation for why Washburn had no notice of the missing paperwork, or why it took the Department of Revenue until May to take any action, all without contacting her in writing or by phone.

Stribling believes sales tax distributions may resume in June, but does not know how the mandated fine will be addressed.

Had Washburn received the same amount it got last May, total sales tax to Barry County governments would have still fallen by 7% for the month.

Cassville’s 1% sales tax added $118,592.69 to the city’s general fund in May, down $2,631.45, or 2%, from last May, the third consecutive monthly decline. Cassville appears to be mirroring the shift seen in Monett as shoppers buy more goods online, especially groceries from Walmart, which shifts taxes to the use tax from general sales taxes. Cassville’s use tax for the month was up by more than $6,000 from a year ago.

Combining Cassville’s four taxes and its use tax for the month, receipts for May were up by a whopping $15 from a year ago. For the year, including the use tax, receipts are up by more than $30,000, or 7%.

Seligman saw its third sales tax gain in four months as its 1% general fund tax generated $14,078.66, up $533 from a year ago. For the year, Seligman’s general fund receipts are up by more than $3,000.

Wheaton saw its 1% general fund tax revenues rise for the third consecutive month, bringing in $6,830.84, up $1,260.80, or almost 23%. Wheaton’s general fund income has now topped last year’s pace by more than $4,000.

8 Purdy’s 1% general fund tax dropped for the fourth time in five months, receiving $3,970.18, down $3,349.92, or 46%, from a year ago. For the year, Purdy’s receipts are down by nearly $7,000.

Exeter saw receipts from its 1% tax for the general fund fall for the third time in five months. Income of $1,653.57 reflected a drop of $1,861.30, or 53%, from last May. Nonetheless, Exeter’s income for the year is up by nearly $500.

Monett’s two sales taxes for the general fund at 1% produced $186,562.57, a drop of $17,572.07 from last May after three months of five-figure gains. Combining all five of Monett’s sales taxes and its use tax, revenues for the month were down by 13%. For the year, receipts are up by more than $67,000.

Countywide taxes felt the pinch from low performances at the city level.

Barry County’s two sales taxes for its general fund at 1.125% yielded $267,127.35, down $26,480.27 from last May. On the other hand, receipts from the county’s use tax for the month were up by $36,115.69, offsetting the drop. For the year, combining the county’s four sales taxes and its use tax, revenues are up by more than $74,000.

The separate .375% sales tax supporting the county’s central dispatching and 911 services received $160,268.55 for the month, down $15,904.65, or 9%, from a year ago. So far in 2025, tax receipts for those services are down by $1,025.56.