City government · Whiteside County, IL

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended April 30, 2024), Sterling took in $330 million and spent $312 million.

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

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (sewer, garbage collection)86%Fines and other7.2%City taxes3.6%State tax money3.3%County and local tax money0.2%Federal tax money<0.1%

What stands out

86%

of Sterling's 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 taxes3.6%

Property tax
2.0%$6.7 million
Other taxes
1.6%$5.2 million
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes; public utility taxes and 1 more
  • Other selective sales taxes$3.6 million
  • Public utility taxes$958 thousand
  • Other licenses$661 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services86%

Fees for services
86%$283 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges; sewer and 2 more
  • Other service charges$278 million
  • Sewer$3.7 million
  • Garbage collection$1.3 million
  • Parks and recreation$19 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money<0.1%

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

From the federal government
<0.1%$294 thousand

State tax money3.3%

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

From the state
3.3%$10.9 million

County and local tax money0.2%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
0.2%$646 thousand

Fines and other7.2%

Interest, rents and other
7.1%$23.5 million
Fines
<0.1%$144 thousand

Where it goes

Health and hospitals88%Running the government and other costs8.0%Police, fire, courts and jails2.0%Interest on debt1.3%Roads, transit and parking0.7%Parks, recreation and libraries0.3%

What stands out

88%

of Sterling's spending goes to health services and hospitals.Most U.S. cities of 10,000 to 50,000 people spend nothing on this.

Spending by category100%

Health and hospitals
88%$274 million
What's in health and hospitalsHospitals
  • Hospitals$274 million
Running the government and other costs
8.0%$24.9 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out and finance, tax collection and budgeting
  • Other and not broken out$24.1 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$780 thousand
Police, fire, courts and jails
2.0%$6.1 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice and fire protection
  • Police$3.6 million
  • Fire protection$2.5 million
Interest on debt
1.3%$3.9 million
Roads, transit and parking
0.7%$2.1 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$2.1 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
0.3%$1.1 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesLibraries and parks and recreation
  • Libraries$805 thousand
  • Parks and recreation$266 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

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

What this covers. The money of City of Sterling 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.