City government · Porter County, IN

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Valparaiso took in $117 million and spent $96.5 million.

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

See every government that serves your ZIP

Where it comes from

Fees for services (water, sewer)56%City taxes31%State tax money8.6%Fines and other3.6%County and local tax money0.6%

What stands out

56%

of Valparaiso'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 taxes31%

Property tax
31%$35.8 million
Other taxes
0.7%$861 thousand
What's in other taxesOther licenses
  • Other licenses$861 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services56%

Fees for services
56%$65.5 million
What's in fees for servicesWater; sewer and 5 more
  • Water$31.7 million
  • Sewer$25.8 million
  • Parks and recreation$3.7 million
  • Garbage collection$2.4 million
  • Other service charges$1.7 million
  • Parking$148 thousand
  • Other government-run businesses$24 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

State tax money8.6%

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

From the state
8.6%$10.1 million

County and local tax money0.6%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
0.6%$692 thousand

Fines and other3.6%

Interest, rents and other
3.5%$4.2 million
Fines
<0.1%$115 thousand

Where it goes

Running the government and other costs36%Water, sewer, trash and utilities25%Police, fire, courts and jails17%Roads, transit and parking14%Parks, recreation and libraries4.6%Interest on debt2.3%

What stands out

36%

of Valparaiso's spending goes to running the government and other costs.A typical U.S. city of 10,000 to 50,000 people spends 18%.

Spending by category100%

Running the government and other costs
36%$35.2 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; finance, tax collection and budgeting and 2 more
  • Other and not broken out$33.8 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$790 thousand
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$524 thousand
  • Other government-run businesses$46 thousand
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
25%$24.2 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesWater supply; sewer systems and 1 more
  • Water supply$12.7 million
  • Sewer systems$8.8 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$2.7 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
17%$16.7 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsFire protection; police and 2 more
  • Fire protection$9.9 million
  • Police$6.3 million
  • Prisons and jails$301 thousand
  • Courts and legal services$238 thousand
Roads, transit and parking
14%$13.8 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways; public transit and 1 more
  • Roads and highways$11.2 million
  • Public transit$2.5 million
  • Parking$118 thousand
Parks, recreation and libraries
4.6%$4.4 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$4.4 million
Interest on debt
2.3%$2.3 million
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Valparaiso. 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 Valparaiso 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.