City government · Santa Clara County, CA

Mountain View's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Mountain View took in $543 million and spent $527 million.

Latest recorded year: ended June 30, 2024Comes fromGoes to

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Where it comes from

City taxes54%Fees for services (water, sewer)23%Fines and other21%State tax money1.5%Federal tax money0.5%

What stands out

21%

of Mountain View's money comes from interest, rents and other revenue.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people gets 6.9%.

City taxes54%

Property tax
40%$218 million
Other taxes
9.2%$49.9 million
What's in other taxesPublic utility taxes; other taxes not classified elsewhere and 4 more
  • Public utility taxes$13.8 million
  • Other taxes not classified elsewhere$10.6 million
  • Other selective sales taxes$8.0 million
  • Occupation and business licenses$6.5 million
  • Other licenses$5.6 million
  • Real estate and stock transfer taxes$5.4 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Sales tax
4.5%$24.5 million

Fees for services23%

Fees for services
23%$124 million
What's in fees for servicesWater; sewer and 5 more
  • Water$44.5 million
  • Sewer$33.0 million
  • Other service charges$20.0 million
  • Garbage collection$16.5 million
  • Parks and recreation$7.8 million
  • Housing$2.1 million
  • Parking$465 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money0.5%

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

From the federal government
0.5%$3.0 million

State tax money1.5%

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

From the state
1.5%$8.3 million

Fines and other21%

Interest, rents and other
21%$114 million
Fines
<0.1%$499 thousand

Where it goes

Running the government and other costs23%Parks, recreation and libraries20%Police, fire, courts and jails19%Water, sewer, trash and utilities15%Sent to other local governments12%All other spending11%

What stands out

12%

of Mountain View's spending goes to local governments.Most U.S. cities of 50,000+ people spend nothing on this.

Spending by category100%

Running the government and other costs
23%$123 million
What's in running the government and other costsCentral staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology); other and not broken out and 2 more
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$91.2 million
  • Other and not broken out$24.2 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$6.1 million
  • Government buildings$1.6 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
20%$106 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$98.3 million
  • Libraries$7.3 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
19%$100 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 2 more
  • Police$50.7 million
  • Fire protection$35.5 million
  • Inspections and regulation$11.3 million
  • Courts and legal services$2.6 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
15%$76.9 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesWater supply; sewer systems and 1 more
  • Water supply$38.2 million
  • Sewer systems$24.0 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$14.7 million
Sent to other local governments
12%$63.8 million
What's in sent to other local governmentsSent to local governments: other and not broken out and sent to the state government
  • Sent to local governments: other and not broken out$63.0 million
  • Sent to the state government$783 thousand
Roads, transit and parking
8.3%$43.7 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways; public transit and 1 more
  • Roads and highways$41.4 million
  • Public transit$1.7 million
  • Parking$493 thousand
Housing and community development
1.8%$9.3 million
Interest on debt
0.9%$4.5 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on general debt and interest on water supply debt
  • Interest on general debt$4.3 million
  • Interest on water supply debt$194 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Mountain View. U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, individual unit file, fiscal year ended June 30, 2024.

What this covers. The money of City of Mountain View 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.