City government · Cumberland County, ME

South Portland's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), South Portland took in $116 million and spent $117 million.

Latest recorded year: ended June 30, 2024Estimated by the U.S. Census BureauComes fromGoes to

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Where it comes from

City taxes77%State tax money14%Fees for services (sewer, parks and recreation)7.6%Fines and other0.6%County and local tax money0.6%

What stands out

76%

of South Portland's money comes from property tax.A typical U.S. city of 10,000 to 50,000 people gets 19%.

City taxes77%

Property tax
76%$88.6 million
Other taxes
1.2%$1.4 million
What's in other taxesOther licenses and public utility taxes
  • Other licenses$1.2 million
  • Public utility taxes$155 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services7.6%

Fees for services
7.6%$8.8 million
What's in fees for servicesSewer; other service charges and 6 more
  • Sewer$4.7 million
  • Other service charges$2.2 million
  • Parks and recreation$1.3 million
  • Road charges$208 thousand
  • Ports and waterways$178 thousand
  • Garbage collection$121 thousand
  • Other school charges$48 thousand
  • Transit fares$34 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

State tax money14%

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

From the state
14%$16.2 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%$673 thousand

Fines and other0.6%

Interest, rents and other
0.5%$622 thousand
Fines
0.1%$124 thousand

Where it goes

Schools and colleges59%Running the government and other costs12%Police, fire, courts and jails11%Water, sewer, trash and utilities5.2%Roads, transit and parking3.9%All other spending9.3%

What stands out

59%

of South Portland's spending goes to schools and colleges.Most U.S. cities of 10,000 to 50,000 people spend nothing on this.

Spending by category100%

Schools and colleges
59%$68.6 million
What's in schools and collegesElementary and secondary schools
  • Elementary and secondary schools$68.6 million
Running the government and other costs
12%$13.5 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$8.5 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$2.1 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$2.1 million
  • Government buildings$813 thousand
Police, fire, courts and jails
11%$13.1 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice and fire protection
  • Police$6.9 million
  • Fire protection$6.2 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
5.2%$6.1 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesSewer systems and garbage and solid waste
  • Sewer systems$4.6 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$1.4 million
Roads, transit and parking
3.9%$4.6 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways; public transit and 2 more
  • Roads and highways$3.5 million
  • Public transit$772 thousand
  • Parking$252 thousand
  • Ports and harbors$57 thousand
Parks, recreation and libraries
3.8%$4.5 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$3.7 million
  • Libraries$796 thousand
Interest on debt
2.9%$3.4 million
Social services
1.4%$1.6 million
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$1.6 million
Health and hospitals
0.6%$692 thousand
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$692 thousand
Sent to other local governments
0.4%$497 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$497 thousand
Environment and natural resources
0.2%$230 thousand
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$230 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of South Portland. U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, individual unit file, fiscal year ended June 30, 2024. Most of this government's figures were estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau from a sample; the government did not report them itself.

What this covers. The money of City of South Portland 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.