OPELOUSAS, La. (AP) - Sales tax collections, which have been in trouble all year St. Landry Parish, fell a staggering 36.7 percent in August compared to last year.
Ronnie Richard, sales tax officer with the St. Landry School Board that tracks the numbers for the parish, said the drop is troubling, but the numbers are not as bad as they appear. He points out that the August 2009 numbers, to which they are being compared, covered a period of intense construction on the Bobcat gas storage facility near Port Barre, which inflated last year's figures.
He says comparing the current numbers with the August 2008 period paints a more realistic view of the local economy. But even when compared with that period, the "2010 numbers are still down by 12 percent.



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