The new year started off with a bang for sales tax revenues in Beeville and Bee County this week.

Comptroller Susan Combs announced that state sales tax revenue in December was $1.81 billion, up 9.4 percent compared to December 2009.

Increases for the first month of 2011 were even more impressive here where oil field activity in the Eagle Ford Shale formation is bringing hundreds of newcomers to the community and boosting sales tax collections in many businesses.

According to the comptroller’s rebate figures, Beeville’s first check for this year came to $236,742.48, an increase of 28.56 percent over the $184,139.32 the city received in the first month of 1010.

Bee County saw an even more impressive increase in its January rebate this year.

The payment reflected an increase of 39.01 percent, reaching $99,232.65. Last January’s rebate to the county was $71,380.95.

“This marks the ninth consecutive month of year-over-year improvement in sales tax revenues, with increases posted across the board,” Combs said. “There were increases in the oil and natural gas and manufacturing sectors reflecting recovering business spending. Sales tax in the retail trade and restaurant sectors were also up. As I outlined in this week’s Biennial Revenue Estimate, we forecast growth in sales tax revenue for the current fiscal year as well as the next two fiscal years.”

On Friday, Combs will send cities, counties, transit systems and special purpose taxing districts their first sales tax allocations of 2011. Local sales tax revenues of $453.2 million are up 11.9 percent compared to January 2010.

Combs will send January sales tax allocations of $302.6 million to Texas cities, up 10.3 percent compared to January 2010. Texas counties will receive sales tax payments of $28.5 million, up 17.3 percent compared to last January.

In addition, $18.9 million will go to 175 special purpose taxing districts around the state, up 16.8 percent compared to last January. Ten local transit systems will get $103.1 million in sales tax allocations, up 14.4 percent compared to a year ago.

December state sales tax collections and January allocations to local governments represent sales that occurred in November.