March 17, 2009
By: Jim Ranney

BUFFALO (2009-03-17) Erie County is starting to feel the impact of the national recession.

Comptroller Mark Poloncarz says sales tax receipts are down for the first two months of the year and he's urging the County Executive and the Legislature to come up with a plan to deal with the loss of revenue.

Poloncarz says the county is facing a perfect storm of economic trouble...including less revenue from the sales tax on gasoline and a decline in cross-border shopping.

"We're seeing a reduction automobile sales, we've seen a reduction in the amount of gasoline sales as a result of the price of gas being lower...and we're seeing a reduction in the amount of Canadian shoppers," Poloncarz said.

Poloncarz says sales tax receipts were down more than 5 percent in January and initial numbers for February show a similar drop. He says if the trend continues for the entire year, the county will lose more than $19-million in revenue.

He says local governments would also be hurt because the county shares sales tax revenue with cities, towns, villages and school districts throughout the county.

On a positive note, Poloncarz says it appears the county ended 2008 with an additional $10-million surplus.