When September's numbers came in, officials were dismayed to see a check for $400,653.98.

"That's $14,000 less than we'd budgeted," Mayor Les Bumgarner said. "The statewide trend is down, and we adjusted the budget and lowered our sales tax expectations, but I don't know if we lowered them enough."

Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President Cliff Brumfield said there were several reasons that the numbers were lower than projected for September, including the tax-free shopping weekend August 1 and 2.

"A lot of people took advantage of the back-to-school shopping on the tax-free holiday, which inevitably made some of the difference," he said. "August is typically a low month since people spend their extra cash and are saving up for the season."

Of 18 cities of similar size that Brookhaven leaders track, Bumgarner said 15 were down in the numbers and only three were up.

"The only ones that were up were college towns," he said, referring to Oxford, Starkville and Cleveland.

In the Southwest Mississippi area, Brookhaven trails McComb and Natchez, though not by much.

McComb is down to $410,002.24 from last year's $467,474.10, more than a $57,000 a month drop. Natchez fared even worse, with a $404,600.68 September total for 2009, down roughly $62,000 from last year's $466,074.36.

Brookhaven's September 2008 numbers were skewed after a half-million dollar audit assessment on a Brookhaven business by the Mississippi State Tax Commission accounted for a little over $100,000 of the $574,985.44 check the city received that month. In September 2007, however, the city received a check for $404,870.83, which is still more than $4,000 above this year's numbers.

Officials had hopes that the Cash for Clunkers program would make a difference in the sales tax numbers, but Sullivan Ford owner Lavelle Sullivan said the project may have actually just helped car dealers stay on track with their monthly sales.

"I don't think we had any incremental sales from it. That being said, had the clunkers program not been there, sales may have been even lower," he said.

But Brumfield said there is still hope on the horizon.

"I agree with the mayor that this is not good news, but not it's not that bad either," Brumfield said. "We will continue our course of improvement in weathering the economic turmoil. We remain confident that the upcoming season will have a very positive impact on our local economy."