New Report Breaks Down Post Tornado Spending in Joplin

Reported by: Gretchen Bolander

Joplin, MO- "Construction and home improvement is up about 42% and motor vehicles is up about 38%. So that pretty well helps us determine that a lot of this is replacing the lost items from the tornado." That, according to City of Joplin Finance Director Leslie Jones. A new report shows the City of Joplin collected nearly $2.8 million on construction and home improvement alone in Fiscal Year 2011. Add in car sales - that another $2.2 million.

Jones added, "Furniture stores are up 21% - people replacing their furniture." There's a category for discount stores - an increase for more than 10%. And malls - up 5% in 2011 compared to 2010. "Restaurants up 10% visitors here. Every one of these you can absolutely tie to the tornado, whether it's visitors being here or people rebuilding and replacing items."

But there are some exceptions to the increase. Entertainment outlets saw a slight drop. Grocery stores are down nearly 10 percent... and the development district at 17th and Range Line saw a 34% decrease. Said, Jones, "1717 obviously was gone for several months of 2011. So that explains why that was down. And grocery stores, we obviously lost a grocery store in the tornado."

Overall, it adds up to an extra $2 million in sales tax revenue for the City of Joplin. Compare that to 2010, when the city saw a 2.9% decrease, along with the fact the city has much bigger bills to pay after the tornado.

Source: http://fourstateshomepage.com/fulltext/?nxd_id=243757

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