NATCHEZ &8212; Sales tax revenues are the highest Natchez has ever seen, even after evacuees from Hurricane Katrina left, city officials said this week.

Sales tax, along with food and lodging taxes, have jumped and stayed high since August, Mayor Phillip West said Thursday.

The amount of sales tax revenue the city earned over the past eight months is roughly the amount it normally earns in a year, he said.

&8220;There&8217;s an atmosphere of optimism in the community,&8221; West said.

Building projects begun before Katrina evacuees flooded Natchez are still in progress, he said, and these projects help bring in revenue.

Most evacuees from Katrina who were going to leave probably left the area by January, West said, but tax revenue continued to increase.

Visitors help the area economy, West said.

&8220;More people are being exposed to Natchez,&8221; West said. &8220;It&8217;s my understanding people are buying second homes, and the real estate market is doing well.&8221;

City Clerk Donnie Holloway said the tax revenue dropped a little after December, but it picked back up in April.

Holloway said he thought the increase in visitors and new residents helped boost sales tax revenue.

&8220;I just think we&8217;ve got a lot more people in town than we&8217;ve had in the past,&8221; Holloway said Friday.

Tourists and travelers are usually a big boost to Natchez in summers, but this summer has been especially busy, Holloway said.

He said he thought Natchez was seeing more visitors because high gas prices meant people were not going as far on trips.