Lots of tourists stayed overnight in La Conner last November. The town council’s January packet summarizing revenues reported $9,464 was collected in hotel/motel taxes, above 2023 and the second highest ever. The visitors did not spend a record amount of money, though. Still, the $42,875 in sales tax was only 1.2% and $516 below last year’s total. It is the third highest January total reported to the town by the state’s Department of Commerce.

The $4,281 collected for the Special Use Fire Tax was below 2023’s total, by $225.

Residents were more forthcoming, paying $4,001 in property taxes, the highest ever for the month and more than two times higher than in 2021.

The REET (Real Estate Excise Tax) collection was $7,092.

Revenues from the three wastewater operations funds totaled $205,685. All were at 8% of the year’s collection, good totals for a winter month.

The water utilities total, at $94,033 was also 8% of the year’s budget.

January has historically been one of the three lowest collection months followed by March and April. The sales related tax totals are based on November’s collections from town businesses and online purchases, a two month lag in funds turned over by the state’s Department of Revenue.