Finance Committee reviews monthly revenue: sales tax up modestly, hotel tax receipts jump

City of Norman finance staff presented monthly revenue and expenditure reports on May 21, reporting modest year‑to‑date sales‑tax growth and a sizable increase in hotel tax receipts.

Staff said sales taxes at the end of April were about 1.77% above the prior year and highlighted hotel‑tax receipts of approximately $3.5 million compared with $2.7 million the prior year. Preliminary May receipts were up 10.87% for the month, bringing the year‑to‑date increase to about 2.59%.

Staff cautioned that the Tax Commission had not yet released full detail on the May numbers; early indications suggested major contributors included University of Oklahoma events, NCAA regionals and concerts, including a recent Lloyd Noble Center event and an arena show by Luke Combs. Visit Norman was expected to supply cell‑phone‑activity heat maps to help the city better understand visitor patterns from recent events.

Committee members described anecdotal evidence from local businesses — increased restaurant and retail traffic and rapid depletion of liquor‑store stock during large events — and asked staff to continue monitoring and reporting detailed Tax Commission breakdowns in future months. The committee adjourned at 4:21 p.m.