Sales tax collections distributed by the state in July rose in all seven counties in southwest and west-central Ohio, and registered the 26th consecutive month of year-over-year gains in Montgomery and Greene counties, according to the Montgomery County Office of Management and Budget and the Ohio Department of Taxation.

Sales tax collections are considered a barometer of the health of the retail sector, which accounts for about two-thirds of the U.S. economy. And the willingness of consumers to spend is good news for manufacturers, distributors and retailers as well as for counties looking to offset losses in property tax and state revenues.

Montgomery County sales tax revenues — based on purchases made at Montgomery County businesses in April and disbursed by the state to the county in July — rose $201,000 from a year earlier to $5.4 million, a 3.9 percent increase. For the first seven months of the year, Montgomery County’s sales tax revenues have risen 6.1 percent to $40 million.

Other counties recorded even more impressive monthly gains. Greene County sales tax collections rose 8.1 percent to $1.8 million, and Warren County reported a 4.6 percent increase to nearly $2.4 million. Miami County collections jumped 11.7 percent to $1.2 million, while Clark County also recorded a double-digit increase of 18.9 percent to nearly $1.8 million. Champaign County’s sales tax collections rose 9.4 percent to $372,000. Butler County officials said a reported 24.1 percent increase to nearly $2.7 million – following a slight drop last month — may have been an anomaly.

Miami County Auditor Matthew Gearhardt said his county’s double-digit percentage increase reflects an economy that is slowly improving, thanks to consumers being more willing to purchase motor vehicles and to spend money in retailers such as Lowe’s, Meijer and Wal-Mart.

“I think it suggests that things here in Miami County have stabilized, and there is continuing growth going on. Hopefully, that shows things are improving slowly but surely,” Gearhardt said.

Both Gearhardt and Miami County Commissioner John “Bud” O’Brien said the increased sales-tax revenues are not exactly a windfall for county governments, which are dealing with reductions in revenues from the state from cuts in the Local Government Fund, a phaseout of tangible personal property taxes and reduced interest income from investments.