CORRECTION: The original story published incorrect numbers as to the amount of revenue collected in July 2009 and the amount the revenue fell compared to July 2008. Those number have been corrected. We regret the error.

NATCHEZ — Sales tax collections continued to slide in the City of Natchez.

Sales tax revenues fell $31,234, or 6.84 percent, in July compared to the same month a year ago, City Clerk Donnie Holloway said. The city collected $425,340 in July 2009, down from $456,574 in July 2008. Sales tax collections are reported two months after the fact.

“It’s just the economy,” Holloway said of the decline.

Holloway wasn’t surprised by the decline, given the city’s recent history. Sales tax revenues fell $14,409, or 3.3 percent, in June. The city collected $422,420 in June 2009, down from $436,829 in June 2008. The city collected $422,781 in May 2009, down from $457,478 in May 2008 — a 7.6 percent drop.

Total sales tax revenue for the fiscal year is $5,282,787, down 0.4 percent from this time last year, Holloway said. The fiscal year began Oct. 1, 2008, and ends Sept. 30.

With the exception of February, when the city reported an 8.59 percent increase in sales tax revenues, sales tax revenues have fallen every month from January to July 2009.