City government · Black Hawk County, IA

Cedar Falls's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Cedar Falls took in $189 million and spent $190 million.

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

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (electric power, gas)65%City taxes21%Fines and other7.7%State tax money4.3%Federal tax money1.1%County and local tax money0.5%

What stands out

65%

of Cedar Falls' 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 taxes21%

Property tax
16%$29.7 million
Sales tax
3.8%$7.1 million
Other taxes
1.7%$3.3 million
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes; other licenses and 1 more
  • Other selective sales taxes$1.6 million
  • Other licenses$1.1 million
  • Public utility taxes$519 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services65%

Fees for services
65%$123 million
What's in fees for servicesElectric power; other service charges and 7 more
  • Electric power$61.0 million
  • Other service charges$22.7 million
  • Gas$17.8 million
  • Sewer$9.9 million
  • Water$6.5 million
  • Garbage collection$3.0 million
  • Parks and recreation$1.6 million
  • Parking$164 thousand
  • Other government-run businesses$81 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money1.1%

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

From the federal government
1.1%$2.1 million

State tax money4.3%

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

From the state
4.3%$8.1 million

County and local tax money0.5%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
0.5%$1.0 million

Fines and other7.7%

Interest, rents and other
7.6%$14.4 million
Fines
<0.1%$166 thousand

Where it goes

Water, sewer, trash and utilities47%Running the government and other costs26%Roads, transit and parking14%Police, fire, courts and jails7.2%Parks, recreation and libraries4.9%All other spending1.6%

What stands out

47%

of Cedar Falls' 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
47%$88.7 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesElectric power; gas supply and 3 more
  • Electric power$55.5 million
  • Gas supply$17.8 million
  • Water supply$7.7 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$3.9 million
  • Sewer systems$3.8 million
Running the government and other costs
26%$48.6 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; finance, tax collection and budgeting and 3 more
  • Other and not broken out$43.9 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$1.9 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$1.5 million
  • Government buildings$878 thousand
  • Other government-run businesses$373 thousand
Roads, transit and parking
14%$26.4 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways and parking
  • Roads and highways$26.1 million
  • Parking$333 thousand
Police, fire, courts and jails
7.2%$13.6 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 2 more
  • Police$7.4 million
  • Fire protection$4.7 million
  • Inspections and regulation$1.0 million
  • Courts and legal services$439 thousand
Parks, recreation and libraries
4.9%$9.3 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$6.9 million
  • Libraries$2.4 million
Housing and community development
1.1%$2.0 million
Interest on debt
0.4%$829 thousand
What's in interest on debtInterest on general debt and interest on electric power debt
  • Interest on general debt$518 thousand
  • Interest on electric power debt$311 thousand
Health and hospitals
<0.1%$123 thousand
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health and hospitals
  • Public health$109 thousand
  • Hospitals$14 thousand
Sent to other local governments
<0.1%$71 thousand
What's in sent to other local governmentsSent to local governments: other and not broken out
  • Sent to local governments: other and not broken out$71 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Cedar Falls. 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 Cedar Falls 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.