October sales tax distribution to Barry County cities and county government entities showed exceptional strength, pushing up revenues to almost every recipient.

Six of the seven Barry County cities collecting sales tax saw their collections rise. Even with Wheaton showing a slight drop, revenues for the month totaled $819,988.18, up 16% from last October.

Cassville’s 1% sales tax supporting its general fund took in $122,224.37, the second highest total on record for the month, up $11,633.14, or more than 10% from a year ago. With the use tax total almost even with last October, income for the month from all Cassville’s taxes was up by more than $22,000. It was the fourth increase in five months, pushing the 2025 general fund sum over last year by almost $20,000.

For the year, Cassville’s combined sales taxes and its use tax collections are up by more than $75,000, or almost 3%.

Monett saw an even bigger surge. Its two sales taxes paying general bills generated $212,364.56, up $35,779.43, or 20%, and, like Cassville, still below the 2023 end-of-pandemic October total. The sum pushed Monett’s general fund sum for the year up by more than $103,000 from a year ago.

With a use tax boost of more than $6,000 for the month, Monett’s sales tax and use tax combined revenues for the year have surpassed last year’s pace by more than $315,000, or 6%.

Seligman’s 1% sales tax supporting its general fund received $14,595.70, up $2,705.83 from last October, breaking a two-month slide. That pulled Seligman’s general fund sum for the year ahead by more than $7,000. Combining all Seligman’s sales taxes and its use tax, revenues for 2025 are up by nearly $14,000, or 4%.

Purdy’s 1% tax supporting its general fund yielded $5,545.76, up $1,411.12 from last October, the first gain in six months. Purdy’s general fund sum is down nearly $10,000 compared to last year’s pace.

Washburn shook off the sales tax drop in September by receiving $3,305.12 in October, erasing the earlier drop with a gain of $622.78. A gain of more than $1,200 from the city’s use tax further helped make up for the twomonth cancellation of receipts ordered by the State Auditor. General fund collections for the year in Washburn are down by $8,000. For the year, all Washburn’s sales taxes and its use tax are down from last year by nearly $18,700, or 9%.

Wheaton’s 1% sales tax produced $4,776.48 in October, down $319.69 from last October for the third consecutive monthly drop. The city’s erratic half-cent transportation tax brought in 47% of the 1%, better than usual by comparison. Wheaton’s general fund collections for the year are up nearly $7,000 from a year ago, and combined collections, thanks largely to the use tax, are up more than $13,000 for the year.

Even Exeter fought back into black ink after a lackluster September. Its 1% tax for the general fund received $2,395.43, up $189.09 from last October. It was the third gain in five months, but left the city down by nearly $1,700 for the year.

The strong municipal showing boosted all the countywide sales taxes.

Barry County’s two older half-cent sales taxes supporting general operations and road maintenance each brought in about $249,366, within a few dollars of each other, both up more than $25,444 from last October. Receipts for the two general fund taxes at .625% were up by nearly $32,000 for the month. So far in 2025, all Barry County’s sales taxes and its use tax have seen gains of almost $1.7 million, or 21%.

The separate .375% sales tax supporting central dispatching and 911 services brought in $187,016.98, up $19,086.85 from last October. That’s a gain of nearly $30,000 from a year ago.