Car dealerships in Burien and all across the country have seen a big drop in business lately because of the struggling economy.

That's not just bad news for the dealerships but also for the city of Burien. Auto dealerships are Burien's biggest business tax revenue source.

The sales tax on car dealerships and auto parts make up about 30 percent of the city's revenue, according to Burien Finance Director Tabatha Miller.

"It's certainly something we are well aware of," she said. "We are watching it very closely."

The city has already adjusted next year's budget to account for the decrease in car sales and Miller says the city will do more adjusting for the following year if necessary.

"The trend has been down and we anticipate that that will continue," she said.

The last set of numbers Miller received was from August. The numbers for retail trade, which is the category in which car dealers fall, was down 21 percent and new car dealers were down 23 percent from last year.

Miller said Burien has reserves and a contingency fund that could be tapped, but that is something the city is trying to avoid.

"We are hopeful that things will change," Miller said.

Burien Honda General Manager Mark Minium said his store was down nearly 50 percent in October from last year. He said for November, if business continues as it is going, they will be down about 32 to 33 percent.

It's going to take a while to fix, I'm thinking six to twelve months before it gets back to close to normal," Minium added.

Minium feels that the recent Boeing strike also affected his business, saying a lot of his customers are Boeing employees.

He said his dealership is unique because more of their sales are cash deals, rather than financing.

"People are hanging on to their dough," he reported.

The dealerships have been trying to weather the storm, but it has been a struggle. BBC Auto terminated their Dodge franchise in late September, turning the dealership into a used car center.

BBC Auto General Manager Steve Carlson said at the decision to terminate the Dodge franchise had mostly to do with a struggling economy.

The recent raise in gas prices and a credit crunch have also affected the market on new cars. Even people with decent credit have struggled to get financing for new cars.

Burien Chevrolet General Manager Bobby Lynn is optimistic. He doesn't feel this trend will continue for long and thinks that a lot of negative attention that the economy has been getting has led to some of the decline.

"Mind over matter is a very powerful thing," he said. "I'm eternally optimistic; I think we're at or near the end of this thing."