The Regional Chamber of Commerce says total retail sales went up between 2012 and last year in every local jurisdiction except Charlottesville. It found the year-to-year increase in Albemarle County was nearly 7%. The corresponding figure for Augusta County topped 8%, Greene County saw a nearly 2-and-a-half per cent rise, and Louisa County and Waynesboro had increases in the 1-2% range. The chamber’s report shows Charlottesville with a nearly 3.7% drop in total retail sales. Chamber officials are not happy with the December numbers for the city and county, and warn larger retailers might not have reported their sales tax figures in a timely manner. That raises the possibility the city’s year-to-year drop might have been smaller.
