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The return of the Hollister Independence Rally last year did not have a significant effect on the city’s third quarter 2025 sales tax revenue, according to a BenitoLink analysis of the sales tax reports.
The city reported $1.84 million in total sales tax revenue for the quarter, which includes July through September. This represented an increase of $115,000, or 6.7%, compared to the previous year. That increase is below the 7.4% annual average increase the city has realized since 2010.
That time span includes the five consecutive years when the city hosted the rally starting in 2013 and its sales tax revenue increased by 5.1% on average annually.
BenitoLink first conducted this analysis ahead of the 2025 rally after city officials contended the rally could become an economic driver for Hollister and Mayor Roxanne Stephens claimed on social media the event will see “millions and millions of dollars coming into our local economy.”
The city, however, reported a cost overrun of $200,000 following the rally, which included claiming a $250,000 Amazon donation as “savings.” Had those funds, intended to be used for restroom repairs at the Pauline Valdivia Memorial Community Center, not been included in the report, the cost overrun would have been $450,000.
Following the rally, Stephens recommended the city conduct an economic study that would analyze the event’s impact to the local economy while still voicing support for it despite the cost to the taxpayers. The city has not yet conducted such a study.
BenitoLink conducted an informal survey of downtown businesses in which some merchants said they experienced a large uptick in business while others reported the same level of sales to other weekends.
Hosting the rally doesn’t appear to have ever had a significant impact on the city’s sales tax revenues on an annual basis either. Since 2010, Hollister experienced a drop in sales tax revenue in 2013 (8.3%, 2019 by 10% and in 2024 by 9.9%. In the other years during that time frame, the city’s sales tax increase has averaged 11.6% with the largest increase occurring in 2020 (43.7%) and in 2016 (19.6%), according to city financial records.
City Manager Ana Cortez has told BenitoLink that she was told upon taking over the top administrator role that local hotels were uncommonly full during the 2025 rally. BenitoLink is looking into the rally’s impact on what is known as the Transient Occupancy Tax revenue.
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