At the Nov. 12 meeting, city staff presented HDL Companies' second-quarter 2025 sales tax update showing a modest gain for Cerritos and highlighting revenue concentration in auto sales.

Miss Miranda summarized HDL's findings: Cerritos experienced a 1.5% increase in sales tax for AprilJune 2025 compared with Q2 2024; after accounting for one-time reporting factors net sales rose 0.4%. In contrast, Los Angeles County overall declined 1.1% and statewide growth was 0.5% for the same period. Miss Miranda said automotive and electronic sectors recorded positive growth while restaurants and hotels remained stable.

The presentation noted that autos and transportation, general consumer goods and business and industry together account for about 70% of the city's sales-tax receipts, and the county use-tax pool (which includes many online transactions) grew 4% year over year, increasing Cerritos' share of pooled online sales tax. Miss Miranda gave Amazon as an example of an online retailer whose sales are allocated through the county pool and then distributed to cities by population.

Commissioners expressed concern about dependence on the Cerritos Auto Square. Commissioner Chang observed that most of the top 25 tax producers are auto dealers and urged the city to consider diversification strategies; Vice Chair Hu agreed and warned that differences in local sales-tax rates can shift large purchases to neighboring jurisdictions.

Staff said they will continue quarterly monitoring and work with HDL Companies to track trends and inform retention and attraction strategies.