Around budget time each year, local officials express grave concerns over places where revenues might be in decline. Since Homer&rsquo;s annual budget is based on sales and property taxes for the most part, the natural tendency is to grow nervous over market forces that may, or may not be, favoring us at the moment. 
Homer is a modest town whose population can only produce so much revenue. Winter&rsquo;s lag drags down the sales tax revenue, and then tourism comes along to brighten it considerably.