Pullman sees its revenues dip by 3 percent

The city of Pullman’s revenue, which has been aided by funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and money from construction, is expected to be down 3 percent compared to what was budgeted for 2020.

Pullman Finance Director Mike Urban on Tuesday gave the city council a rundown of the city’s revenue and how it has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The city budgeted for more than $23 million in revenue for 2020, but is now projecting to fall more than $700,000 short of that.

“It’d be a lot more if it weren’t for the CARES dollars that we’re putting in there so that skews it just a little bit,” Urban said.

The city received more than $1 million in federal money from the CARES Act this year.

Pullman’s total tax revenue is projected to be down 5.5 percent from what was budgeted for 2020. That includes dips in sales tax, utility taxes and admissions tax, among others.

As an example, Urban highlighted the admissions tax that took a hit after Washington State University football games were postponed. Pullman budgeted for $475,000 in admission tax revenue but is projected to get $237,500 by the end of the year.

“As you can see with the football season, what it is, the movie theaters going through what they’re going through, this is just a really light line item compared to what we were originally budgeting,” Urban said.

The sales tax took a hit in April, but went up significantly in July thanks to one-time sales tax revenue from construction.

He said if it was not for construction, the sales tax revenue would be down 3.5 percent.

“We still want to be out there supporting our retail and being safe and keeping our neighbors and families safe, but supporting our local businesses as well,” Urban said.

The city was expecting to receive $1.3 million in fees for its programs and activities, but now is hoping to get $300,000 by the end of the year.

Tax money from liquor sales is expected to exceed what was budgeted for this year with $205,000 expected to come in by the end of 2020. Marijuana tax revenue is projected to be slightly down from last year at $65,000.

The 2020 property tax is approximately $14.9 per $1,000 of assessed value. Property tax levies are set on a yearly basis and the city council is scheduled to set the 2021 property tax levies on Nov. 17.

Anthony Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.