New Kohl's and Target stores in Richland, construction at Chiawana High School in Pasco and strong new and used motor vehicle sales in Kennewick likely propelled the Tri-Cities' first-quarter taxable retail sales well above the state's.

Kennewick and Richland experienced nearly 8 percent gains over the first quarter of 2007, while Pasco's taxable retail sales jumped nearly 10 percent.

Washington's taxable retail sales grew about 1.4 percent, to $26.6 billion.

Benton County reported 8.2 percent growth, to $595 million, and Franklin County's taxable retail sales grew 16.2 percent, to about $257 million.

Work at Hanford and Coyote Ridge Corrections Center as well as growth in the food processing industry are helping keep the local economy steady, said Dean Schau, state regional labor economist.

"The Tri-Cities has a very balanced economy," he said, also citing the benefits the declining dollar value has for agriculture.

"For a community that exports food all over the planet, a falling dollar is a good thing," he said.

The opening of Target and Kohl's in Richland last October meant astronomical jumps in the city's clothing and shoe store sales -- more than 1,300 percent to $2.8 million -- and department store sales: More than 272 percent to about $4.5 million.

Overall retail trade in Richland grew almost 17 percent, driven partly by those new stores.

Retail trade tracks sales at retail outlets only and excludes more volatile sectors such as construction, wholesale trade and hotels and restaurants. It's generally a stronger measure of consumer spending, according to the Department of Revenue.

While the city continues to promote itself to chain businesses, it's focusing on small business development as well, said Gary Ballew, economic development manager for Richland.

"We're also looking at ways to support and grow local businesses, including retail," he said.

A host of new venues also grew the city's sales at restaurants by nearly 6 percent to $16.8 million.

A couple of new Mexican restaurants, the Starbucks and Panda Express at Queensgate and Wheat Montana are some of the main new eateries, Ballew said.

Taxable retail sales for construction in Richland were down about 11 percent to $42 million, likely because of the end of construction on Highway 240, he said.

Toyota of Tri-Cities' move to Kennewick continues to affect both cities' taxable retail sales for motor vehicles.

Kennewick's new and used auto sales jumped more than 39 percent in the first quarter, to $35.6 million.

Across the river, Pasco lost more than 16 percent of its car sales, to $30.8 million.

"Next year, we should start to absorb the full impact of Toyota (moving)," said Gary Crutchfield, Pasco's city manager. That means auto sales should start growing again.

Pasco's taxable retail sales growth was mainly attributable to a $16 million increase in construction spending, which was up more than 69 percent over the first three months of 2007.

Crutchfield said a good portion of that money is from the new Chiawana High School.

"Take the school out and we're not far off of last year," he said.

But the city's 1.7 percent drop in retail trade is a concern.

"If you take construction out of the bottom line ... this year could be relatively flat," he said.

General merchandise sales in the city did jump nearly 31 percent to $15.2 million. Crutchfield was a little surprised by that figure, but attributed it to continued residential growth in Pasco.

The city's budget does offer a little wiggle room if sales tax revenues are flat, or even if they decline. It's calculated based on 92 percent of the previous year's sales tax revenue, a system that's been built into the budget over the last 10 years or so, Crutchfield said.

He compares it to a salesperson who is paid partially by salary and by commission. The salary is like the city's income from utility and property taxes -- more dependable, whereas commission income is like sales tax revenue -- both can change drastically from year to year.

"I can't really budget to spend it because I don't know that I'm going to get it," Crutchfield said.

Sales tax is the biggest source of revenue for the city's general fund.

"If we have a big dropoff, we can absorb that ... without laying off police and firefighters or closing parks," he said.

And if sales tax comes in the same, "we've got an 8 percent carryover ... to use for one-time purchases."

In Kennewick, retail trade grew more than 4 percent to $199.4 million. About $10 million of that increase resulted from new and used auto sales.

The city experienced some losses at clothing, shoe and department stores, likely because of Richland's new stores.

"There's always a consideration of potential cannibalization," said Ken Nelson, Kennewick's economic development director.

Clothing and shoe store sales were down about 2.5 percent to $17.2 million, while department store sales decreased close to 14 percent to $20.9 million.

Hotels and restaurants also continued to drive growth in each of the cities, particularly in Kennewick, which saw a more than 8 percent growth to $33.3 million.

The Wingate by Wyndham hotel opened at 27th Avenue and Highway 395 in March 2007, which likely helped spur the city's accommodations growth by nearly 13 percent to $4.2 million.

And new restaurants such as P.F. Chang's and Sonic helped grow taxable sales at restaurants and drink places by almost 8 percent to $29.1 million.

As in the other cities, new business always is welcome, and Nelson said Kennewick has "contacted all the usual suspects."

But tight credit and a struggling national economy means developers aren't overly eager to jump in to new deals, he added.

Ballew said the area's continued growth and healthy economy is attractive to chains looking to expand.

"If you're looking to go somewhere now, why not go into an area that's spending more money on retail and growing rather than those that are retracting?"