City government · Washington County, IN

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Salem took in $18.0 million and spent $13.1 million.

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

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (sewer, water)48%City taxes26%State tax money24%Fines and other2.1%County and local tax money0.8%

What stands out

24%

of Salem's money comes from state tax money.A typical U.S. city, town or village of under 10,000 people gets 10%.

City taxes26%

Property tax
26%$4.6 million
Other taxes
0.3%$46 thousand
What's in other taxesPublic utility taxes and other licenses
  • Public utility taxes$27 thousand
  • Other licenses$19 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services48%

Fees for services
48%$8.6 million
What's in fees for servicesSewer; water and 5 more
  • Sewer$4.3 million
  • Water$3.9 million
  • Garbage collection$205 thousand
  • Other government-run businesses$114 thousand
  • Parks and recreation$41 thousand
  • Airport$34 thousand
  • Other service charges$4 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

State tax money24%

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

From the state
24%$4.3 million

County and local tax money0.8%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
0.8%$140 thousand

Fines and other2.1%

Interest, rents and other
2.1%$372 thousand
Fines
<0.1%$2 thousand

Where it goes

Running the government and other costs37%Water, sewer, trash and utilities29%Police, fire, courts and jails14%Roads, transit and parking10%Housing and community development6.3%All other spending3.2%

What stands out

6.3%

of Salem's spending goes to housing and community development.Most U.S. cities, towns and villages of under 10,000 people spend nothing on this.

Spending by category100%

Running the government and other costs
37%$4.9 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology) and 3 more
  • Other and not broken out$2.4 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$2.0 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$204 thousand
  • Government buildings$115 thousand
  • Other government-run businesses$87 thousand
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
29%$3.8 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesWater supply; sewer systems and 1 more
  • Water supply$2.2 million
  • Sewer systems$1.2 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$373 thousand
Police, fire, courts and jails
14%$1.9 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 1 more
  • Police$1.1 million
  • Fire protection$676 thousand
  • Courts and legal services$77 thousand
Roads, transit and parking
10%$1.3 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$1.3 million
Housing and community development
6.3%$820 thousand
Parks, recreation and libraries
2.0%$257 thousand
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$257 thousand
Interest on debt
0.7%$95 thousand
Health and hospitals
0.5%$71 thousand
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$71 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Salem. 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 Salem 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.