City government · Seward County, KS

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Liberal took in $45.2 million and spent $38.7 million.

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

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Where it comes from

State tax money41%Fees for services (water, sewer)30%City taxes21%Fines and other7.7%County and local tax money0.9%

What stands out

41%

of Liberal's money comes from state tax money.A typical U.S. city of 10,000 to 50,000 people gets 7%.

City taxes21%

Property tax
16%$7.1 million
Other taxes
5.0%$2.2 million
What's in other taxesPublic utility taxes; other licenses and 1 more
  • Public utility taxes$2.0 million
  • Other licenses$162 thousand
  • Occupation and business licenses$36 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services30%

Fees for services
30%$13.6 million
What's in fees for servicesWater; sewer and 5 more
  • Water$6.1 million
  • Sewer$3.6 million
  • Garbage collection$2.5 million
  • Parks and recreation$1.2 million
  • Other service charges$99 thousand
  • Other government-run businesses$63 thousand
  • Airport$24 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

State tax money41%

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

From the state
41%$18.3 million

County and local tax money0.9%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
0.9%$406 thousand

Fines and other7.7%

Interest, rents and other
6.4%$2.9 million
Fines
1.4%$626 thousand

Where it goes

Running the government and other costs29%Water, sewer, trash and utilities26%Police, fire, courts and jails23%Parks, recreation and libraries11%Roads, transit and parking7.8%All other spending3.2%

What stands out

29%

of Liberal'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
29%$11.2 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology) and 1 more
  • Other and not broken out$6.6 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$4.4 million
  • Other government-run businesses$147 thousand
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
26%$10.1 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesWater supply; sewer systems and 1 more
  • Water supply$4.5 million
  • Sewer systems$3.2 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$2.4 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
23%$9.0 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 1 more
  • Police$4.9 million
  • Fire protection$3.1 million
  • Courts and legal services$990 thousand
Parks, recreation and libraries
11%$4.1 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$3.5 million
  • Libraries$601 thousand
Roads, transit and parking
7.8%$3.0 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways and airports
  • Roads and highways$2.1 million
  • Airports$899 thousand
Interest on debt
2.1%$831 thousand
What's in interest on debtInterest on general debt and interest on water supply debt
  • Interest on general debt$752 thousand
  • Interest on water supply debt$79 thousand
Health and hospitals
1.1%$417 thousand
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$417 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Liberal. 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 Liberal 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.