Sales tax revenues in Barry County to cities and county entities were generally sluggish in July.

Cumulative countywide tax collections dropped from a year ago, while the largest cities out-performed the rest, resulting in a positive gain on the municipal level.

Receipts from Barry County’s seven cities collecting sales tax totaled $822,611.37 in July, up 4% from a year ago. Cassville came out on the upswing for the second consecutive month after three months of steady declines. The city’s 1% sales tax paying general bills received $116,4889.16, up $620.26 from a year ago. That boosted the 2025 general fund tally up more than $9,500 from last July. Use tax receipts for the month were up by almost $5,000 for the month. Combining the city’s four sales taxes and the use tax, Cassville’s revenues for the year were up by nearly $40,000, or 2%.

The pivotal gain for the month came in Monett, where the city’s two sales taxes supporting the general fund at 1% generated $217,799.49, up $10,712.55, or 5%, the fifth five-figure gain in six months. Use tax receipts were up by more than $15,000 for the month. Monett sales taxes boosted revenues into the county by nearly $30,000 over last July. Combining Monett’s five active sales taxes and the use tax for the year showed a gain of more than $152,000, or 4%, over the 2024 pace.

Seligman’s 1% general fund tax produced $13,812.91 in July, a gain of $1,760.62 over last July. Use tax receipts were also up by more than $1,000. Seligman’s four sales taxes and its use tax have outpaced last year’s receipts by nearly $28,000, or 13%.

Wheaton saw its fifth con- secutive gain from its 1% sales tax. The general fund tax yielded $5,342.83, up $1,135.45 from last July. Wheaton’s two sales taxes and its use tax for thus far in 2025 delivered over $15,000 more into city coffers than last year, a gain of 27%.

Purdy almost broke even with last July as its 1% sales tax paying general bills received $6,186.84, down $17.83 from last July. Receipts from the city’s three taxes were down by a total of $35.22. It was the fourth consecutive monthly drop for Purdy, putting the 2025 sum for all its taxes down more than $17,000, or 20% compared to last year.

Exeter saw receipts from its 1% sales tax fall for the second time in four months. The city’s 1% tax pulled in $1,973.49, a drop of $1,450.20 from last July. For the year, Exeter’s receipts are down by less than $800.

There was good news in Washburn, where sales tax distributions were reinstated after a two-month suspension. Clerk Kimmie Stribling turned the situation over to the mayor and city attorney after State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick ordered tax revenues halted for failing to file year-end financial reports.

Reinstatement came without any explanation to the clerk, ending the $500-a-day fine. The city received $2,519.91 from its 1% general fund tax, down $194.75 for the month, while the city’s two half-cent taxes showed gains, leaving a net gain of $119.37. With five months of collections compared to seven a year ago, Washburn’s combined tax receipts for 2025 were down by more than $16,000, or a third from last year’s pace.

Countywide taxes dropped for the month.

Barry County’s two .5% sales taxes paying general bills and maintaining roads each brought in more than $237,600, each down by more than $6,300. Receipts for the county’s use tax, however, were up by more than $46,000, erasing all the red ink. For the year, receipts from Barry County’s four sales taxes and its use tax are up by more than $178,000, or 3%.

The separate .375% sales tax supporting 911 and central dispatching generated $178,210.39 for the month, down $5,766.38 from last July. That left receipts for the year up by more than $10,000, or 1%.