City government · Polk County, FL

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended September 30, 2023), Lakeland took in $759 million and spent $747 million.

Latest recorded year: ended September 30, 2023Comes fromGoes to

See every government that serves your ZIP

Where it comes from

Fees for services (electric power, water)69%Fines and other14%City taxes11%County and local tax money2.5%State tax money2.3%Federal tax money1.0%

What stands out

69%

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

City taxes11%

Property tax
6.6%$50.4 million
Other taxes
4.2%$32.2 million
What's in other taxesPublic utility taxes; motor fuel taxes and 3 more
  • Public utility taxes$17.3 million
  • Motor fuel taxes$6.7 million
  • Occupation and business licenses$3.1 million
  • Insurance premium taxes$2.6 million
  • Other licenses$2.5 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services69%

Fees for services
69%$527 million
What's in fees for servicesElectric power; water and 9 more
  • Electric power$389 million
  • Water$41.9 million
  • Sewer$40.7 million
  • Garbage collection$17.8 million
  • Airport$10.4 million
  • Parks and recreation$9.7 million
  • Parks, land and natural resources$8.3 million
  • Other service charges$5.4 million
  • Road charges$1.3 million
  • Other government-run businesses$892 thousand
  • Parking$687 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money1.0%

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

From the federal government
1.0%$7.8 million

State tax money2.3%

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

From the state
2.3%$17.5 million

County and local tax money2.5%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
2.5%$18.9 million

Fines and other14%

Interest, rents and other
14%$103 million
Fines
0.4%$2.8 million

Where it goes

Water, sewer, trash and utilities51%Running the government and other costs23%Police, fire, courts and jails12%Roads, transit and parking4.6%Parks, recreation and libraries4.4%All other spending5.1%

What stands out

51%

of Lakeland's spending goes to water, sewer, trash and other utilities.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people spends 20%.

Spending by category100%

Water, sewer, trash and utilities
51%$382 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesElectric power; sewer systems and 2 more
  • Electric power$308 million
  • Sewer systems$30.2 million
  • Water supply$27.3 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$17.1 million
Running the government and other costs
23%$172 million
What's in running the government and other costsFinance, tax collection and budgeting; other and not broken out and 1 more
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$142 million
  • Other and not broken out$26.7 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$3.1 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
12%$87.8 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 2 more
  • Police$58.9 million
  • Fire protection$24.1 million
  • Inspections and regulation$4.6 million
  • Courts and legal services$266 thousand
Roads, transit and parking
4.6%$34.3 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways; airports and 1 more
  • Roads and highways$18.6 million
  • Airports$14.4 million
  • Parking$1.4 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
4.4%$33.2 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$29.1 million
  • Libraries$4.1 million
Interest on debt
2.8%$20.9 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on electric power debt; interest on general debt and 1 more
  • Interest on electric power debt$14.9 million
  • Interest on general debt$3.7 million
  • Interest on water supply debt$2.2 million
Environment and natural resources
1.4%$10.1 million
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$10.1 million
Housing and community development
0.9%$6.7 million
Social services
<0.1%$229 thousand
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$229 thousand
Sent to other local governments
<0.1%$20 thousand
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$19 thousand
  • Sent to the state government$1 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Lakeland. U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, individual unit file, fiscal year ended September 30, 2023.

What this covers. The money of City of Lakeland 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.