City government · Sebastian County, AR

Fort Smith's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Fort Smith took in $288 million and spent $237 million.

Latest recorded year: ended December 31, 2023Comes fromGoes to

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Where it comes from

City taxes32%Fees for services (sewer, water)29%State tax money16%Federal tax money8.7%County and local tax money8.7%Fines and other6.0%

What stands out

8.7%

of Fort Smith's money comes from county and other local tax money.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people gets 0.9%.

City taxes32%

Sales tax
21%$61.3 million
Property tax
5.6%$16.1 million
Other taxes
4.8%$13.8 million
What's in other taxesPublic utility taxes; other licenses and 1 more
  • Public utility taxes$9.3 million
  • Other licenses$3.3 million
  • Other selective sales taxes$1.2 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services29%

Fees for services
29%$82.7 million
What's in fees for servicesSewer; water and 6 more
  • Sewer$28.4 million
  • Water$27.7 million
  • Garbage collection$21.4 million
  • Airport$2.8 million
  • Parks and recreation$1.4 million
  • Other service charges$566 thousand
  • Transit fares$197 thousand
  • Parking$142 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money8.7%

Grants from Washington, paid for by the federal taxes residents also pay.

From the federal government
8.7%$25.2 million

State tax money16%

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

From the state
16%$47.1 million

County and local tax money8.7%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
8.7%$25.1 million

Fines and other6.0%

Interest, rents and other
5.1%$14.7 million
Fines
0.9%$2.5 million

Where it goes

Water, sewer, trash and utilities32%Roads, transit and parking26%Police, fire, courts and jails19%Running the government and other costs11%Parks, recreation and libraries8.4%All other spending4.5%

What stands out

26%

of Fort Smith's spending goes to roads, transit and parking.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people spends 10%.

Spending by category100%

Water, sewer, trash and utilities
32%$76.6 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesWater supply; sewer systems and 1 more
  • Water supply$35.3 million
  • Sewer systems$25.0 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$16.2 million
Roads, transit and parking
26%$60.9 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways; airports and 2 more
  • Roads and highways$42.5 million
  • Airports$15.4 million
  • Public transit$2.8 million
  • Parking$233 thousand
Police, fire, courts and jails
19%$44.4 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 1 more
  • Police$22.3 million
  • Fire protection$20.0 million
  • Courts and legal services$2.1 million
Running the government and other costs
11%$25.0 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology) and 1 more
  • Other and not broken out$19.6 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$2.9 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$2.6 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
8.4%$19.9 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesLibraries and parks and recreation
  • Libraries$14.2 million
  • Parks and recreation$5.6 million
Interest on debt
3.8%$9.0 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on water supply debt and interest on general debt
  • Interest on water supply debt$8.9 million
  • Interest on general debt$79 thousand
Housing and community development
0.6%$1.5 million
Health and hospitals
<0.1%$133 thousand
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$133 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Fort Smith. U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, individual unit file, fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.

What this covers. The money of City of Fort Smith 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.