By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
More money is being spent in Great Bend. The proof is in the numbers.
Great Bend recorded its highest April distribution of sales tax this year. The April distribution is based on the sales tax collected by retailers in February, and Great Bend’s half-cent sales tax collected $180,791.
City
Administrator Kendal Francis said that beat the previous high of $148,000 set
in 2017.
"Our 2nd quarter distribution of our transient guest tax was also the highest ever for that same time period," said Francis. "That's really good news because that sector had been hit so hard by COVID. We seem to be rebounding nicely."
The transient tax is a 6% fee
charged to those that stay in hotels. The 2nd quarter consists of
collections from December, January and February. The 2022 2nd
quarter distribution was $75,644, more than $9,000 better than the previous
record set in 2018.
Great Bend is on pace to have a record-setting year for transient guest tax collections. Since 2012, the highest transient tax collected was $349,143 in 2018. The city has collected $199,755 so far through the first two quarter distributions, with two left.