Town government · Porter County, IN

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Chesterton took in $27.9 million and spent $19.4 million.

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

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (sewer, garbage collection)40%Town taxes39%State tax money16%Fines and other4.6%County and local tax money1.2%

What stands out

37%

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

Town taxes39%

Property tax
37%$10.3 million
Other taxes
2.0%$570 thousand
What's in other taxesOther licenses; public utility taxes and 1 more
  • Other licenses$340 thousand
  • Public utility taxes$183 thousand
  • Occupation and business licenses$47 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services40%

Fees for services
40%$11.1 million
What's in fees for servicesSewer; garbage collection and 2 more
  • Sewer$9.8 million
  • Garbage collection$1.3 million
  • Parks and recreation$25 thousand
  • Other service charges$3 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

State tax money16%

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

From the state
16%$4.3 million

County and local tax money1.2%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
1.2%$337 thousand

Fines and other4.6%

Interest, rents and other
4.4%$1.2 million
Fines
0.2%$50 thousand

Where it goes

Police, fire, courts and jails40%Water, sewer, trash and utilities24%Running the government and other costs14%Roads, transit and parking9.3%Housing and community development9.1%All other spending3.9%

What stands out

9.1%

of Chesterton's spending goes to housing and community development.Most U.S. cities of 10,000 to 50,000 people spend nothing on this.

Spending by category100%

Police, fire, courts and jails
40%$7.8 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 1 more
  • Police$5.3 million
  • Fire protection$2.1 million
  • Prisons and jails$327 thousand
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
24%$4.6 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesSewer systems and garbage and solid waste
  • Sewer systems$3.2 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$1.4 million
Running the government and other costs
14%$2.7 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$2.1 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$473 thousand
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$148 thousand
Roads, transit and parking
9.3%$1.8 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$1.8 million
Housing and community development
9.1%$1.8 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
3.1%$605 thousand
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$605 thousand
Interest on debt
0.8%$148 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Town of Chesterton. 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 Town of Chesterton 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.