The August number was even lower than December 2001 which dipped to $6.6 million, a 28% drop from November 2001. August collections were 8.7% lower than July and lower than the $7.1 million collections in August 2001.

The bulk of the room tax revenue is used to pay down debt on the $750 million, one-million-sf expansion of the Orange County Convention Center which hopes to be at 2.2 million sf of exhibition/meeting space in early 2003. That size would place Orange County among the top five largest convention sites in the United States, according to county tourism officials.

But with one month left to compute, September, county comptroller Martha O. Haynie and other county officials are not optimistic the 12-month total will reach either the initial projected figures of $112.6 million or the revised amount of $90.6 million. The number stands at $85.5 million for 11 months beginning with the county's fiscal year on Oct. 1, 2001.