Sales Dip 2% In Kootenai County Slowdown Reflects Departure From Recent Double-Digit Gains

Signs of a cooling economy in Kootenai County have solidified into convincing proof.

Taxable sales for the third quarter of 1995 dipped 2 percent in Kootenai County. In the five-county Panhandle area, sales dropped less than a percentage point.

While slight, the slowdown in retail sales represents a dramatic departure from the double-digit gains in taxable sales common throughout the decade.

“We’ve become addicted to growth,” said Kathryn Tacke, labor analyst for the Idaho Department of Employment. “I think there are a few causes for concern, but this is basically a stabilization.”

Taxable sales include everything sold except wholesale purchases, outof-state shipments, trade-in deductions and sales to tax-exempt buyers like government agencies.

Construction-related business sectors in Kootenai County showed the weakest performance compared with third quarter 1994.

Sales from sawmill and lumber finishing operations dropped 20 percent from the same quarter last year. With the Louisiana-Pacific sawmill in Post Falls closing permanently next month, sales will likely fall further in the fourth quarter.

Building material sales dropped 30 percent from the same period last year, reflecting the slowdown in residential construction. The third quarter - July, August and September - is the busiest construction period of the year.

The third quarter is also the busiest tourism period. Sales receipts for hotels and motels in Kootenai County stayed about even. But with more hotels eating into that total, profits for some properties dropped, industry officials said.

The drop in sales won’t likely affect the tax revenues that come back to the counties from Boise. Sales tax dollars are distributed on an unusual formula devised decades ago that evens out each county’s cut of receipts. Big gains and drops don’t greatly affect the amount sent back from Boise.

The county budget conservatively projects sales tax revenue, according to county officials. The dip in sales tax receipts likely won’t have much of an effect.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Graphic: Panhandle retail sales