- May 6, 2024
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The economic recovery in Palm Coast and Flagler County continues, as taxable sales jumped for both areas over the last 12 months, according to numbers released by the Florida Department of Revenue.
Palm Coast had $579 million in taxable sales in 2012, a 5.3% increase from $550 million in 2011.
Flagler County saw an even larger increase, going from $693 million in 2011 to $739 million in 2012 — a 6.6% increase.
“(The increase) is indicative of the success of the business environment, meaning every time the taxable sales go up, that means the businesses are increasing their sales,” said Palm Coast City Manager Jim Landon.
Palm Coast accounted for 78.33% of all countywide taxable sales in 2012, which was slightly down from 79.34% in 2011.
Overall, Palm Coast’s taxable sales have grown $122,910,138 (27%) since 2007.
With the taxable sales increasing, so has the sales tax revenue, and that is good news, said Chris Quinn, the city's finance director.
Quinn said the city is expecting to get back about $2 million in sales tax revenue for fiscal year 2013. The city will also collect another $2.1 million on the half-cent, small-county surtax.
The sales tax collected goes into the city's general fund and is spent on items such as parks and recreation, engineering, planning and code enforcement. The half-cent sales tax is spent on capital improvements, such as road projects, Quinn said.
Flagler County hit its peak in 2006, with about $790 million in taxable sales. The total dropped to as low as $652 million in 2009.
Although Palm Coast hasn’t hit a “home run” with a large manufacturing firm locating to the area and bringing hundreds of jobs, Landon said, the recovery and growth is more about stringing together a bunch of singles.
“We do it one (job) at a time,” he said.
Landon also noted the number of single-family building permits that have been pulled as another positive sign.
Last week, 12 single-family residential building permits were pulled. There were 12 such permits issued in all of April 2012, and in the two years prior, fewer than 10 were issued through April.
“Anybody who says we’re still suffering (is wrong),” he said. “Anytime you’re climbing, in my opinion, that’s a good thing. You may not be where you want to be, but we’re making progress.”
