Sales tax revenue in the Town of Coupeville continues to stay steady, reflecting a pretty healthy local economy, Mayor Nancy Conard said.

During her annual State of the Town Address, Conard said she watches tax revenue closely.

In some areas the town is holding steady — others are steadily low.

“I’m a numbers person,” she said. “I track this as an indicator of how the economy is doing.”

While the town has historically collected more than $300,000 in sales tax since 2003, the town budget remains steady as Conard said she is conservative in her estimates.

Several factors can cause an influx in collected taxes, and the town sees an increase in revenue when a major capital project is happening, she said.

In 2011, the town collected more than $370,000 because of a school construction bond.

“The hospital passed a very big bond,” she said. “When that construction starts, we’ll have an opportunity for money to surge through the economy.”

And while the revenue increases, the town doesn’t adjust the budget to reflect those increases.

“We never hire staff knowing it was one-time money,” she said. “We continue to be conservative. We’re doing pretty well in our community.”

The other revenue Conard watches is tourism funds, also known as lodging taxes.

One challenge Coupeville faces, she said, is that Coupeville is close enough for people to take a one-day trip.

“We got to figure out is how to get people to stay another night,” she said.

Revenues from Real Estate Excise Tax are consistent, but have seen little growth. REET funds are used for capital-improvement projects.

In 2005 to 2007, the town was collecting more than $40,000 in REET. In 2008 those funds took a hit and, since then, it has collected as little as $13,000 in one year.

In 2013, it collected around $27,000 in REET.

“It’s nowhere the level it was before,” Conard said. “Real estate transactions took a nosedive.”

In 2008, the town averaged 12 to 14 building permit applications. Now the town averages two to four.

“Things have just slowed down a lot,” she said.

The town is also limited in what it can collect in property taxes and must go to voters to increase the limit. With a collection limit of 1 percent and declining property values, the town has to make up funds somewhere.

This is one of the reasons, Conard said, she supports tourism so heartily and encourages business owners to sell the community.

More sales tax helps make up for the property tax limit.

“We don’t necessarily want them to move here, but we want them to spend their money here,” she said jokingly. “I tell people we just got the mojo right now, and we just got to perpetuate that.

“I’d rather see more sales tax than ask people for more money.”

The town also has some capital projects it continues to work on, including the Madrona Way project, which has been in the works for several years.

Officials are also evaluating water and sewage rates for the town, which have not been increased in years.

Conard said she expects publics discussions about the rates later this year.