Hamilton County's half-penny sales tax collections — the means to pay for two new stadiums and other riverfront development — hit a three-year low this month.

        April collections, which reflect spending in January, came in at $3.8 million, or 15.3 percent lower than the same month last year.

        Not since April 1999, when only $3.7 million was collected, has such a small amount of sales tax cash trickled into county coffers.

        The sales tax collections are important because Hamilton County officials need them to grow at an average of 3 percent per year in order to pay their riverfront development bills. That hasn't happened since 1999.

        In 2000, the sales tax grew at just 1.7 percent. Last year, the revenues lost ground, down 2.6 percent.

        Hamilton County Administrator Dave Krings said he doesn't put too much stock in any single month.

        “You can drive yourself nuts if you do this month-to-month,” Mr. Krings said. “You have to look at overall trends.”

        But the overall trend isn't much better.

        County officials have long said a 3 percent growth rate is conservative. Between 1970 and 1996, when the sales tax increase was passed by voters, receipts have grown at less than 3 percent just four times. In each case, the receipts rebounded the following year by growing at more than 5 percent.

        But this recent slump has lasted two full years. And projections for 2002 after four months show a growth rate of just 1.8 percent.

        County officials are under pressure to immediately spend $40 million in sales tax money on parking garages for The Banks development along the riverfront.

        They have offered $20 million to build parking garages on two blocks. Under that plan, the county would use $8 million in sales tax reserves meant to cover the bills when sales tax revenue lags.

        Hamilton County Auditor Dusty Rhodes said he's worried that the property tax rollback may be jeopardized by more spending.

        Mr. Rhodes said it's premature to spend any additional money on The Banks until the economy stabilizes.

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