Some good news for Sioux Falls' economy. Sales tax collections are up in Sioux Falls for the past two months.

In 2008, the city took in $3.4 million and $3.9 million, but in 2009, they are up slightly for both months. Even so, city officials say the numbers are far from where they were before the recession and that could still mean some major projects could be delayed.

Despite the recession, people are still spending in Sioux Falls based on sales tax collections. 

"They've been better for the last three months in a row.  The problem is they're not as good as we expected, so we're still in a negative compared from this to last year and that means we'll make some adjustments," city council member Gerald Beninga said.

Those adjustments, Beninga says, could be two road projects by Sioux Falls Christian High School. They're on the city's five-year plan, but probably won't get done as soon as they'd like. 

"We have a lot of traffic there.  If you've ever spent anytime there on a weekend or during the school periods, you know that there's a traffic jam," Beninga said.

Beninga, who serves on the finance committee, says the road to a balanced budget has been rough but manageable. 

"Our expenses are down and bid contracts that we have with contractors locally have come in extremely positive.  They've all pretty much been under the estimates, which is good," Beninga said. 

The other bit of good news for the city is that the lodging and entertainment taxes were also up last month. 

"I think that's an indication that people aren't traveling a lot.  They are staying closer to home and doing their outings in Sioux Falls or weekends or shorter trips or whatever," Beninga said.

Last year, the city collected almost $36 million dollars in sales taxes. So far this year, it's brought in almost $35 million with the busiest two shopping months still ahead.