At this Wednesday’s City Council meeting, a key topic of discussion will be Susanville’s economic performance and how it affects the city’s future planning. Recent data which will be presented by Economic Development Director Tamara Spade, reveals that sales receipts for the city were 1% higher from April to June compared to the same period last year, with actual sales rising by 2.7% when accounting for unusual factors.
One major focus of the discussion will be the role of state-county pools, which continue to be the largest income source for Susanville. The pools, which distribute sales tax revenue collected from various businesses across regions, saw a solid 7.4% return this period, reflecting strong sales in several categories.
City officials will look to explore what these positive trends mean for future growth, particularly in key sectors such as casual dining, which experienced encouraging returns. Grocery stores in the food-drug category also performed well, with a 4.3% increase in revenue—outpacing the statewide average of 1.8% as they provided discounts to consumers.
Despite these gains, the building and construction sector saw weak performance as homeowners and businesses postponed improvements. City Council members will address these challenges and look at ways to stimulate growth in this area moving forward.
Measure P, the voter-approved local tax, also had a positive impact, with a 2.2% increase in collections, largely driven by sales in general consumer goods.
As the council reviews these numbers, they will be discussing strategies to continue boosting the local economy, especially as taxable sales for all of Lassen County grew by 7.3% during the same period.
All are encouraged to attend the meeting, which will take place at 5:00 p.m. in City Hall. The full report and council agenda can be found on the city’s website.
