City government · Limestone County, AL

Athens's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended September 30, 2023), Athens took in $208 million and spent $199 million.

Latest recorded year: ended September 30, 2023Estimated by the U.S. Census BureauComes fromGoes to

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (electric power, water)80%City taxes16%Fines and other2.8%State tax money1.1%

What stands out

80%

of Athens' money comes from fees for services such as water, sewer and parking.A typical U.S. city of 10,000 to 50,000 people gets 30%.

City taxes16%

Sales tax
10%$21.8 million
Property tax
2.8%$5.8 million
Other taxes
2.8%$5.7 million
What's in other taxesOther licenses; alcoholic beverage taxes and 3 more
  • Other licenses$3.2 million
  • Alcoholic beverage taxes$1.1 million
  • Motor fuel taxes$837 thousand
  • Tobacco taxes$558 thousand
  • Alcoholic beverage licenses$52 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services80%

Fees for services
80%$167 million
What's in fees for servicesElectric power; water and 2 more
  • Electric power$130 million
  • Water$15.3 million
  • Gas$14.7 million
  • Other service charges$7.2 million

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

State tax money1.1%

Money the state passes on, paid for by the state taxes residents also pay.

From the state
1.1%$2.3 million

Fines and other2.8%

Interest, rents and other
2.4%$5.0 million
Fines
0.3%$726 thousand

Where it goes

Water, sewer, trash and utilities74%Roads, transit and parking9.2%Police, fire, courts and jails5.5%Running the government and other costs4.2%Sent to other local governments3.1%All other spending3.8%

What stands out

74%

of Athens' spending goes to water, sewer, trash and other utilities.A typical U.S. city of 10,000 to 50,000 people spends 24%.

Spending by category100%

Water, sewer, trash and utilities
74%$148 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesElectric power; gas supply and 2 more
  • Electric power$123 million
  • Gas supply$10.9 million
  • Water supply$10.0 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$3.9 million
Roads, transit and parking
9.2%$18.4 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$18.4 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
5.5%$11.0 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 1 more
  • Police$6.3 million
  • Fire protection$4.7 million
  • Courts and legal services$8 thousand
Running the government and other costs
4.2%$8.5 million
What's in running the government and other costsCentral staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology); other and not broken out and 1 more
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$4.4 million
  • Other and not broken out$2.7 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$1.3 million
Sent to other local governments
3.1%$6.2 million
What's in sent to other local governmentsSent to local governments: other and not broken out
  • Sent to local governments: other and not broken out$6.2 million
Interest on debt
2.5%$4.9 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on general debt; interest on water supply debt and 2 more
  • Interest on general debt$3.3 million
  • Interest on water supply debt$838 thousand
  • Interest on electric power debt$656 thousand
  • Interest on gas supply debt$99 thousand
Parks, recreation and libraries
1.3%$2.6 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$2.4 million
  • Libraries$181 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Athens. U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, individual unit file, fiscal year ended September 30, 2023. Most of this government's figures were estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau from a sample; the government did not report them itself.

What this covers. The money of City of Athens itself. Other governments that serve the same area (the city, county, school district and state) are separate and not included. Borrowing, transfers between a government's own funds, and pension trust funds are not counted as revenue.