Figures for December sales tax collections show Christmas was good to Covington County.

The county reported $765,382 in collections, which is an increase of $72,600 or 9.5 percent for the same period in 2009.

At present, the county’s year-to-date collections total $2,636,898 – an 8.16 percent increase from the same period in 2010.

Assistant County Administrator Pam Steele said the figures and the increase are outstanding.

“For us, that is a big increase all the way around, for both the monthly comparison and the year to date comparison,” Steele said. “That year-to-date figure is only the fist four months of this fiscal year. When you look back at that time last year and compare the year before, we saw an increase of only 1.92 percent.

“So, yes – things are looking very good,” she said. “We all hope it will continue to be positive.”

County officials predicted the area would see its largest remittance of the 2010 year when December sales taxes were remitted in January.

In October, the county collected $585,836 for September’s sales; in November, $636,747 for October’s sales; and in December, $648,933 for November’s sales.

Even though experts say the recession ended last summer, the national economy has not rebounded; however, local sales tax collections in Andalusia, Opp and Florala have been remarkably stable.