City government · Wells County, IN

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Bluffton took in $90.1 million and spent $47.4 million.

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

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (sewer, electric power)88%City taxes4.4%State tax money3.7%Fines and other2.2%Federal tax money0.9%County and local tax money0.4%

What stands out

88%

of Bluffton'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 taxes4.4%

Property tax
4.3%$3.9 million
Other taxes
<0.1%$65 thousand
What's in other taxesOther licenses and public utility taxes
  • Other licenses$54 thousand
  • Public utility taxes$11 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services88%

Fees for services
88%$79.6 million
What's in fees for servicesSewer; electric power and 3 more
  • Sewer$46.7 million
  • Electric power$27.3 million
  • Water$5.6 million
  • Other service charges$23 thousand
  • Parks and recreation$21 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money0.9%

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

From the federal government
0.9%$807 thousand

State tax money3.7%

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

From the state
3.7%$3.4 million

County and local tax money0.4%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
0.4%$353 thousand

Fines and other2.2%

Interest, rents and other
2.2%$2.0 million
Fines
<0.1%$40 thousand

Where it goes

Water, sewer, trash and utilities73%Police, fire, courts and jails11%Running the government and other costs7.6%Parks, recreation and libraries2.9%Roads, transit and parking2.6%All other spending2.9%

What stands out

73%

of Bluffton's spending goes to water, sewer, trash and other utilities.A typical U.S. city of 10,000 to 50,000 people spends 24%.

Spending by category100%

Water, sewer, trash and utilities
73%$34.7 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesElectric power; sewer systems and 1 more
  • Electric power$20.6 million
  • Sewer systems$12.1 million
  • Water supply$2.0 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
11%$5.1 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 1 more
  • Police$3.5 million
  • Fire protection$1.5 million
  • Courts and legal services$64 thousand
Running the government and other costs
7.6%$3.6 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; finance, tax collection and budgeting and 1 more
  • Other and not broken out$3.4 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$191 thousand
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$27 thousand
Parks, recreation and libraries
2.9%$1.4 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$1.4 million
Roads, transit and parking
2.6%$1.2 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$1.2 million
Interest on debt
1.9%$887 thousand
Health and hospitals
0.4%$211 thousand
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$211 thousand
Housing and community development
0.3%$155 thousand
Environment and natural resources
0.2%$99 thousand
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$99 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Bluffton. 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 Bluffton 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.