Sales tax revenues distributed by the state in February rose for the 21st consecutive month in Montgomery and Greene counties, and also increased in five other counties in west-central and southwest Ohio, according to a report released Wednesday by the Montgomery County Office of Management and Budget and the Ohio Department of Taxation.

Montgomery County sales tax revenues — based on November 2011 sales and disbursed to the county by the Ohio Department of Taxation in February — rose about $460,000 from a year earlier, to $5.7 million, an 8.7 percent increase, according to the report. Sales tax collections are considered to be “the ultimate barometer of retail sales,” said John Parks, budget and financial planning manager for the Montgomery County Office of Management and Budget.

Greene County collections grew nearly $47,000 to $1.9 million, a 2.5 percent increase. Warren County’s increase was more robust: a 10.5 percent jump to $2.4 million, while Butler County’s sales tax collections rose 8 percent to $2.6 million. Clark County sales tax revenues jumped 6.2 percent to

$1.7 million, while Miami County sales tax revenues rose 1.4 percent to $1.15 million, and Champaign County sales tax revenues rose 1.6 percent to $362,000. Sales taxes are collected by the state and disbursed to counties two months later. Montgomery and Greene counties have seen gains in the sales tax disbursements every month since May 2009.

The sales tax revenue increase is an indication of recovery, but it can “change in a heartbeat” because it’s based on spending, said Pete Landrum, Butler County’s assistant administrator and director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Staff writer Eric Schwartzberg contributed to this report.