The economy in Dell Rapids is holding strong despite a rough year in 2019 with business closings and two major floods. Sales tax revenues remained on a pace to surpass 2018 totals according to a report given by City Administrator Justin Weiland at the latest Dell Rapids City Council meeting on Monday, December 2nd.
“Things are still looking good on the year. The bottom didn’t fall out on the community when we lost Shopko, which was an obvious concern. We just kind of hope that November and December months are strong, which they generally are. We haven’t really ever seen any big dips in a year in those months in the past. Hopefully that will continue strong,” said Weiland at the council meeting.
Administration was not sure what the sales tax numbers might be in 2019 with the closure of big retail businesses. Shopko closed its store at the end of February. Video Plus also closed in March, and Family Dollar shut its doors in the middle of May.
Even though the community lost some businesses this year, new ones have opened in the last year. Papa’s Pub opened in the middle of December in 2018. Pinz opened in October of this year, and The Shoppe just recently opened in early November. All three of these businesses are located in downtown Dell Rapids.
Sales tax revenue has been reported through the month of October. Dell Rapids has seen a 5.4% increase in sales tax revenues compared to the same time in 2018, which is an increase of just under $53,000. The city has surpassed the million dollar mark already this year, and only three of the reported 10 months saw a decrease from last year.