The Second Quarter Financial Report of the City of Falls Church’s General Fund, presented to the F.C. City Council Tuesday night by Chief Financial Officer Kiran Bawa, was unexceptional, except for big jumps in revenues from sales and meals taxes in the quarter. Sales tax yields for the October-December 2018 time frame were above projections by 9.0 percent, and above a year ago by 11.21 percent. Meals tax yields, likewise, were up 9.8 percent over projections and 7.68 percent above last year.

Vice Mayor Marybeth Connelly and Councilman Ross Litkenhous argued that the increases could be attributed to the F.C. Chamber of Commerce’s aggressive “Buy Local” campaign during those months that encompassed the holidays, and Bawa, herself, had no other explanation for the boost.