By William Crum Staff Writer wcrum@oklahoman.comOn the surface, Oklahoma City's sales tax revenues for February look like more of the same. And they are, largely, marking the eighth time in the past 12 months that collections were down from the same month a year earlier. Nevertheless, February's $37.3 million check from the Oklahoma Tax Commission is the second-largest ever received, eclipsed only by the $38.9 million received in February 2015. February's check is for the last two weeks of December and first two weeks of January, reflecting sales just before Christmas and the post-Christmas shopping period. Sales tax is the city's largest single source of revenue for day-to-day expenses such as police and fire protection paid from the general fund. The general fund's share of February's receipts was $19.3 million, down 4.1 percent from February 2015 and about 6 percent below the budget target for 2 percent growth. Through the first eight months of the fiscal year, Oklahoma City has received $146.6 million for the general fund, down 1.7 percent from last year, said Doug Dowler, the city's budget director. Sales tax is running $5.2 million below projections for the year.Read more on NewsOK.com