St. Lawrence County sales tax collections for 2015 were down by 2.7 percent from 2014 collections, according to the office New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

In 2014, the county saw receipts of $56,476,979. In 2015, it had dipped to $54,940,283.

The North Country as a whole had a 2.9 percent drop in sales tax collections in 2015, according to DiNapoli’s office.

Ten counties experienced a decline of more than 3 percent in 2015, including two of St. Lawrence County’s neighbors, Franklin County, down 3.2 percent, and Jefferson County, down 3.5 percent.

Annual local sales tax collections declined in 30 of the 57 counties outside of New York City last year, the report said.

But in the state taken as a whole, total collections grew by 3.6 percent, or $552 million, in 2015 compared to 2014. But the increase was nearly exclusively driven by New York City, which saw an increase of $487 million.

“The unpredictability in sales tax collections continues to have financial ramifications for our local governments and their bottom lines,” said DiNapoli. “With little to no growth in sales tax collections, most counties have exercised additional caution when making spending decisions. Local officials should maintain a watchful eye on their collections and make adjustments to their budgets and long-term financial plans should this revenue source slip further.”

DiNapoli’s report found outside of New York City, growth in local sales tax collections was a mere 0.7 percent. By comparison, in 2014 the local growth rate was 1.6 percent and collections grew in 52 of the 57 counties outside of the city. The state’s overall 15-year annual average growth in sales taxes was 4 percent.

Ten counties experienced a decline of more than 3 percent in 2015 – Allegany, Chemung, Clinton, Delaware, Franklin, Jefferson, Montgomery, Putnam, Schoharie and Tioga.

For a copy of the report, visit: http://osc.state.ny.us/localgov/pubs/research/salestaxcollections0216.pdf