By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — When people shop locally, it's a positive for the community, according to local administrative officials. The sales tax numbers for the City of Hutchinson and Reno County not dropping as a result of the pandemic has allowed local government to do more than they thought they might be able to.
"We're going to be able to look a little more seriously at our replacement schedule of rolling fleet stock," said Hutchinson City Manager Jeff Cantrell. "It has an impact on positions that are funded through the general fund. One of those recent discussions related to the Human Relations Officer. Before, that was kind of a budget dilemma. Now, we really don't have that budget pressure that we anticipated having. We're really pleased about that."
County Administrator Randy Partington's office isn't as sales tax dependent as the city is, but he's still pleased to see the numbers in the right direction.
"People are spending more money in Reno County," Partington said. "With the slowdown because of COVID and some stores being closed or restricted with their hours, I'm not sure what has caused that, but it is great news. That will be great if residents continue to shop here locally. The more we buy here locally, the better off for everyone."
The hope is that those who started new buying habits because of the pandemic will keep them up now that they know they can get what they need locally.