DATE: 02/04/2026
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Finance Department
2026-40
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBJECT:
QUARTERLY SALES TAX REPORT – 2025, QUARTER 3 (JULY-SEPTEMBER) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to receive and file the Quarter 3 2025 sales tax report provided by HdL Companies, with whom the City of Corona contracts for sales tax consulting services, including quarterly data reporting.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the City Council receive and file the quarterly sales tax information from HdL Companies for Quarter 3 2025 (July – September).
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
HdL Companies is contracted to provide sales tax consulting services for the City. On a quarterly basis, they review and analyze the City’s sales tax activity. Their resources provide them with information to understand sales tax trends and how the City is performing compared to agencies near Corona, agencies in Riverside County, Southern California, and the State. There is a one-quarter lag in when the information is available to HdL Companies for their review and analysis.
ANALYSIS:
Below are the Quarter 3 2025 (July – September) sales tax highlights. The attached newsletter and consensus forecast documents provide additional details.
Quarter 3 2025 (July – September)
From July to September 2025, Corona’s receipts were 2.0% lower than the same period in 2024 (Bradley Burns portion of sales tax). After accounting for reporting anomalies, actual sales declined by 1.6%. Statewide construction activity remained slow, challenged by housing affordability concerns and economic uncertainty. This contributed to lower tax revenue from the sale of building materials, contractors, and plumbing/electrical supplies during the quarter. Local business-industry revenue was impacted by a lower payment from a local supplier, compared with an unusually large payment in the prior year, and by a partial payment from a local heavy industrial supplier. A positive development included a higher allocation from the countywide tax pool, boosted by regional energy and utility-related investments.
Measure X, the City’s one percent voter-approved district tax, outperformed the previously mentioned Bradley-Burns returns, supported by strong local auto transportation spending and retail ecommerce activity.
Across Riverside County, taxable sales, excluding anomalies, grew by 2.5% compared to the same period last year. Sales tax across Southern California increased by 1.8%.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
There is no financial impact associated with the recommended action.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is exempt pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that a project is exempt from CEQA if the activity is covered by the common sense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. This action is to receive and file a quarterly sales tax report, and there is no possibility that approval of the recommended actions will have a significant effect on the environment.
Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: KIM SITTON, SENIOR FINANCIAL ADVISOR
REVIEWED BY: BRETT CHANNING, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Exhibit 1–2025-Q3 Sales Tax Update Newsletter
2. Exhibit 2–2025-HdL California Consensus Forecast Dec 2025