Taxable sales up in Jamestown

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If taxable sales and purchases are any indication, Jamestown appears to be economically sound on almost all fronts, says North Dakota’s top ranking tax official.

The first quarter of 2010 compared to 2009 shows an 8.54 percent increase for the Buffalo City in 10 reportable categories.

The biggest boon here is in manufacturing, which increased to more than $2 million for the first quarter in 2010 compared to $1,455,507 in 2009.

“All in all, I think the Jamestown report for 2010 first quarter was good,” said Cory Fong, North Dakota tax commissioner.

Wholesale trade was up 32.15 percent in 2010 to $4.13 million and financial, insurance, real estate and rental and leasing was up 23.5 percent to round out the three top-performing categories.

One pivotal area where Jamestown continues to do well is in construction, Fong said.

Construction increased to $886,416 compared to $799,333 in the first quarter of 2009.

Fong said he attributes the growth to the new hospital construction as well as other building projects around Jamestown.

While an increase in construction means more buildings are going up, the category that measures economic recovery the most effectively is retail trade, Fong said. That category is a great indicator of how people spend their discretionary income.

In Jamestown retail trade rose 5.53 percent to $23.67 million for the first quarter of 2010. Statewide, that category is up 8.25 percent to $935.91 million.

“For the most part our economy has been relatively strong,” Fong said.

He said he contributes that increase in part to residents across the state not having to deal with flooding as was the case in 2009.

Overall the state gained 2.65 percent, but Benson, Burke, Divide, Emmons, LaMoure, McHenry, Pembina, Sioux and Slope counties all had negative taxable sales and purchases.

In smaller communities, sometimes a sale of one piece of farm machinery is a big enough item to tip the taxable sales and purchases, Fong said. Other communities out in the Western part of the state, in the Oil Patch, may have experienced economic booms last year but those may have been absent this year.

Fong said the better picture is looking at the 44 other counties across North Dakota with positive taxable sales and purchases.

“That’s a very good sign for our economy across the state,” he said.

Lush farmlands across North Dakota could indicate a strong crop this year as well, Fong said. This is one reason why the outlook for the remainder of the year is positive.

“It’s quite possible that we’ll see this strength continue in the second and third quarters,” he said.

Sun reporter Ben Rodgers can be reached at 701-952-8455 or by e-mail at brodgers@jamestownsun.com

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