Sugar Land is facing belt tightening thanks to collecting less sales taxes along with the bigger elephant in the room, which is slowed development.

Monthly sales tax allocations to Sugar Land for 2008 show increases every month over 2007 with the exception of March. In March the city received $2,668,380 compared to $3,077,706 that same month a year ago. March sales tax allocations reflect sales made in January.

Even though the national economic picture was bleak for September with major job losses across the country, Sugar Land’s November’s sales tax receipts, which reflect spending in September, increased over that month last year. They were $3,394,135 this November for an increase of $409,646 over the 2007 November sales tax collection of $2,984,489.

Even though December sales taxes, which reflect sales in October, won’t arrive for three more weeks or so, Sugar Land only has to collect $1,092,200 to equal the 2007 total sales tax collection of $37,416,957.

For 2005 through this year, Sugar Land has never collected less than $2 million in sales taxes every month so it appears the city will collect more this year than it ever has even though it may not be a lot more than last year’s total.

Sales tax allocation tables for Missouri City and Stafford show the same trend that Sugar Land has. With December sales taxes still outstanding, Stafford has collected a total of $13,378,670 this year compared to $13,555,462 in 2007.

Stafford collected less sales tax this year in January, April, May, July and October than during those same months last year but also had six months this year when it got more. It will only take $176,792 to collect the same amount of sales taxes this year than Stafford did in 2007 and the city’s average per month collection runs more than $1 million.

In Missouri City, sales tax collections were up during seven months this year over 2007 and down during May, July, September and October this year compared to those months last year.

As of November, the city’s total for 11 months this year is $5,289,842. Last year, the city’s 12-month collection total was $5,587,942.