City government · Lake County, IL

Lake Forest's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended April 30, 2022), Lake Forest took in $82.5 million and spent $63.2 million.

Latest recorded year: ended April 30, 2022Comes fromGoes to

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Where it comes from

City taxes58%Fees for services (water, parks and recreation)26%State tax money12%Fines and other3.8%Federal tax money0.3%

What stands out

44%

of Lake Forest's money comes from property tax.A typical U.S. city of 10,000 to 50,000 people gets 19%.

City taxes58%

Property tax
44%$36.5 million
Other taxes
13%$10.9 million
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes; other licenses and 1 more
  • Other selective sales taxes$4.2 million
  • Other licenses$3.5 million
  • Public utility taxes$3.3 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services26%

Fees for services
26%$21.6 million
What's in fees for servicesWater; other service charges and 2 more
  • Water$9.2 million
  • Other service charges$7.1 million
  • Parks and recreation$4.7 million
  • Sewer$608 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money0.3%

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

From the federal government
0.3%$241 thousand

State tax money12%

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

From the state
12%$10.0 million

Fines and other3.8%

Interest, rents and other
3.5%$2.9 million
Fines
0.3%$260 thousand

Where it goes

Police, fire, courts and jails30%Running the government and other costs27%Parks, recreation and libraries25%Water, sewer, trash and utilities9.0%Roads, transit and parking7.0%Interest on debt2.0%

What stands out

25%

of Lake Forest's spending goes to parks, recreation and libraries.A typical U.S. city of 10,000 to 50,000 people spends 5.6%.

Spending by category100%

Police, fire, courts and jails
30%$19.0 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice and fire protection
  • Police$10.7 million
  • Fire protection$8.2 million
Running the government and other costs
27%$17.1 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)$12.9 million
  • Other and not broken out$3.4 million
  • Other government-run businesses$735 thousand
Parks, recreation and libraries
25%$15.8 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$12.3 million
  • Libraries$3.5 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
9.0%$5.7 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesWater supply and garbage and solid waste
  • Water supply$5.4 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$331 thousand
Roads, transit and parking
7.0%$4.4 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$4.4 million
Interest on debt
2.0%$1.3 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Lake Forest. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Census of Governments, Finance, individual unit file, fiscal year ended April 30, 2022. The Census record for this government is from the 2022 survey, the newest on file.

What this covers. The money of City of Lake Forest 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.