Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/956592
NWA Democrat-Gazette File Photo/BEN GOFF • @NWABENGOFF Estela Martinez, a Walmart employee, stocks the shelves in the school supplies area with pencils at the supercenter on Pleasant Crossing Boulevard in Rogers. NWA Democrat-Gazette File Photo/BEN GOFF • @NWABENGOFF Jonathan Cousins rings up a customer at the Walmart Supercen- ter on Pleasant Crossing Boulevard in Rogers. to be very stable with a slight increase," Wilhelm said. "We try to be very conservative, and we've held back on pur- pose. We don't want to go over our projections." The increasing revenue in Northwest Arkansas mirrors growth in the state and na- tional economies and is likely to continue for the near fu- ture, according to Mervin Ja- baraj, director for the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville "This is the 105th con- secutive month of economic growth," he said. "That is tied for the second-longest expan- sion ever." Arkansas' general-revenue tax collection in February in- creased by nearly 6 percent over the same month a year ago to $457.9 million, the De- partment of Finance and Ad- ministration reported. The re- cord for February was $432.4 million in 2017, according to Whitney McLaughlin, a tax analyst for the finance de- partment. Individual income and sales and use tax revenue both grew last month com- pared with a year ago. They are the two largest sources of general revenue for the state. Across the nation, states' tax revenue appears to be rel- atively strong, with 27 states reporting general sales tax revenues on target or above estimate, according to a re- port by the National Confer- ence of State Legislatures. "All the indicators are that we're very healthy right now," McCaslin said. "The national economy is healthy. I am very optimistic." Tom Sissom can be reached by email at tsissom@nwadg.com or on Twitter at NWATom. Taxes v Continued from Page 4V Sales tax rates Arkansas collects a 6.5 percent sales tax statewide. Counties and cities can set their own sales tax rates. For example, a T-shirt purchased for $10 would cost $10.76 in Goshen and $11.08 in West Fork because of different rates of city sales tax. CITY RATE COUNTY RATE STATE RATE TOTAL SALES & USE TAX Benton County N/A 1% 6.5% 7.5% Avoca 1% 1% 6.5% 8.5% Bella Vista 1% 1% 6.5% 8.5% Bentonville 2% 1% 6.5% 9.5% Cave Springs 1% 1% 6.5% 8.5% Centerton 2% 1% 6.5% 9.5% Gentry 1.125% 1% 6.5% 8.625% Gravette 2% 1% 6.5% 9.5 Lowell 2% 1% 6.5% 9.5% Pea Ridge 1% 1% 6.5% 8.5% Rogers 2% 1% 6.5% 9.5% Siloam Springs 2% 1% 6.5% 9.5% Washington County N/A 1.25% 6.5% 7.75% Elkins 2.75% 1.25% 6.5% 10.5% Farmington 2% 1.25% 6.5% 9.75% Fayetteville 2% 1.25% 6.5% 9.75 Goshen 0% 1.25% 6.5% 7.75% Greenland 3% 1.25% 6.5% 10.75% Johnson 2% 1.25% 6.5% 9.75% Lincoln 2% 1.25% 6.5% 9.75% Prairie Grove 2.25% 1.25% 6.5% 10% Springdale 2% 1.25% 6.5% 9.75% Tontitown 2.75% 1.25% 6.5% 10.5% West Fork 3% 1.25% 6.5% 10.75% Winslow 0% 1.25% 6.5% 7.75% Source: Staff report NWA Democrat-Gazette/J.T. WAMPLER An increased desire of some homebuyers for smaller homes closer to downtowns is prompting some builders to construct denser projects. been used for big-box stores and expansive parking lots for housing and mixed developments. Fayetteville has grad- ually begun doing so around its downtown, and Jebaraj said other cities are looking into the same. Steenken said denser development would likely be al- luring to new buyers, and he's glad for the drift in that direction. He has cli- ents from Houston, Chica- go and the Northeast. "In town, the writing's on the wall: We are a city now," he said of Fayette- ville. "There's just no- where else to go." All of these trends come as the region gives more attention to the is- sue of housing affordabili- ty. Census estimates show tens of thousands of most- ly low-income Northwest Arkansas families spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing, a conventional limit on what's considered affordable. The Walton Family Foundation and the university's Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design brought in national experts earlier this year to speak about solutions. The two have partnered on a project to design low-cost housing developments. Members of Northwest Arkansas Continuum of Care, an umbrella group that includes several homeless service providers, have long said housing costs are a major factor in homelessness. They've urged apartment managers to accept federal housing assistance vouchers and called on the region as a whole to make accessible housing a priority. Dan Holtmeyer can be reached at dholtmeyer@nwadg.com and on Twitter @NWADanH. Housing v Continued from Page 4V By the numbers Residential real estate results for the last six months of 2017 in Benton and Washington counties: m 27.3 months supply of re- maining lots in active subdivi- sions (down 53.5 percent since 2014) m 1,434 building permits issued (down 12.5 percent since 2016) m 5,571 empty lots in active subdivisions (down 36.7 percent since 2014) m 1,030 homes under con - struction (up 53.7 percent since 2014) Source: Skyline Report ∂ ∂ SUNDAY, MARCH 25, 2018 v 7V Plus, use your FREE Debit Card and get a 'DIME-A-TIME' On signature-based transactions over $20 FREE transactions on ANY ATM! Northwest Arkansas Offi ces 2592 N. Gregg, Ste. 22, Fayetteville • (479) 316-4700 Mon. - Fri. 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. 3210 S. Walton Blvd., Bentonville • (479) 802-7200 Mon. - Fri. 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. www.goifb.com *Limited time offer. APY=Annual Percentage Yield. APY is accurate as of March 5, 2018. Rate may change after account opening. Interest paid monthly. 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