City government · Story County, IA

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Ames took in $472 million and spent $420 million.

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

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (hospital bills, electric power)75%City taxes11%Fines and other9.5%State tax money3.0%Federal tax money1.5%County and local tax money0.2%

What stands out

75%

of Ames' money comes from fees for services such as water, sewer and parking.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people gets 30%.

City taxes11%

Property tax
7.4%$34.9 million
Sales tax
2.6%$12.0 million
Other taxes
1.0%$4.6 million
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes; other licenses and 1 more
  • Other selective sales taxes$2.8 million
  • Other licenses$1.5 million
  • Public utility taxes$209 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services75%

Fees for services
75%$353 million
What's in fees for servicesHospital bills; electric power and 10 more
  • Hospital bills$254 million
  • Electric power$64.6 million
  • Water$13.7 million
  • Sewer$12.6 million
  • Garbage collection$4.4 million
  • Parks and recreation$1.7 million
  • Transit fares$701 thousand
  • Parking$483 thousand
  • Other government-run businesses$239 thousand
  • Other service charges$150 thousand
  • Airport$104 thousand
  • Road charges$73 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money1.5%

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

From the federal government
1.5%$7.3 million

State tax money3.0%

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

From the state
3.0%$14.2 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%$736 thousand

Fines and other9.5%

Interest, rents and other
9.4%$44.4 million
Fines
0.1%$525 thousand

Where it goes

Health and hospitals52%Water, sewer, trash and utilities24%Roads, transit and parking9.5%Police, fire, courts and jails5.1%Running the government and other costs4.4%All other spending4.6%

What stands out

52%

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

Spending by category100%

Health and hospitals
52%$220 million
What's in health and hospitalsHospitals and public health
  • Hospitals$219 million
  • Public health$821 thousand
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
24%$100 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesElectric power; water supply and 2 more
  • Electric power$63.2 million
  • Water supply$17.1 million
  • Sewer systems$14.9 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$5.2 million
Roads, transit and parking
9.5%$40.1 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingPublic transit; roads and highways and 2 more
  • Public transit$31.8 million
  • Roads and highways$6.4 million
  • Airports$1.1 million
  • Parking$889 thousand
Police, fire, courts and jails
5.1%$21.3 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 2 more
  • Police$10.5 million
  • Fire protection$8.4 million
  • Inspections and regulation$1.8 million
  • Courts and legal services$543 thousand
Running the government and other costs
4.4%$18.6 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$15.0 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$2.1 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$795 thousand
  • Government buildings$441 thousand
  • Other government-run businesses$249 thousand
Parks, recreation and libraries
2.4%$10.0 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesLibraries and parks and recreation
  • Libraries$5.4 million
  • Parks and recreation$4.5 million
Interest on debt
1.7%$7.2 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on general debt; interest on water supply debt and 1 more
  • Interest on general debt$6.1 million
  • Interest on water supply debt$1.0 million
  • Interest on electric power debt$95 thousand
Social services
0.4%$1.8 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$1.8 million
Housing and community development
<0.1%$399 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

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

What this covers. The money of City of Ames 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.