POULSBO — After years of speculation about potential financial impacts from the Olhava development, reality will soon set in as the April sales tax report is released Wednesday.

The city council’s finance/administration committee will get the first look at the report, which reflects sales taxes collected in February, at 5 p.m. at city hall.

“It’s just a matter of curiosity because it’s not like we built the city on it,” explained Councilman Jim Henry, who chairs the committee. “I want to see how it’s affecting us.”

At the March finance/administration committee meeting, Henry raised the question of potential Olhava impacts since the March sales tax report reflected the first week of both retailers’ openings.

The April report includes the first full month of revenues from the retail giants — Wal-Mart and The Home Depot — which opened their doors in late January.

“It might be a different kind of green coming down the hill,” Henry said.

Even though increased activity in the area should bring in additional sales tax revenues, Henry said he doesn’t anticipate any changes in the city’s financial attitude.

“We’re not planning on making any dramatic changes,” he said.

During the construction phase and stocking of retailers in the development, the city has benefitted overall, but not in retail sales tax revenues, said budget analyst Deb Booher.

Now with both retailers reporting one month of sales, revenues are in line with the city’s projections, Booher said.

“Right now, we’re right at what we project and I think we’ll end up about what we projected,” she said.

Traditionally, February has ranked dead last in sales tax revenues, which are reported in April, but this year’s report tells a different story, she said.

“It’s the first time we’ve seen revenues over $200,000 in a single month, and we’re up $72,000 over the same period last year,” Booher said, noting that while the majority of the increase comes from the retail sector, construction activity in the city increased as well.

With the first impacts now being felt, Booher said it will be at least a year to 18 months before the sustained effects of the retail giants is actually known.

“They’ve said it’s going to be at least a year before it settles down and we stop seeing as many peaks and valleys,” Booher said.