Town government · Middlesex County, MA

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Belmont took in $206 million and spent $263 million.

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

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Where it comes from

Town taxes61%Fees for services (electric power, sewer)24%State tax money12%Fines and other2.0%Federal tax money0.6%

What stands out

24%

of Belmont's money comes from fees for services such as water, sewer and parking.A typical U.S. township or town of 10,000 to 50,000 people gets 8.8%.

Town taxes61%

Property tax
60%$123 million
Other taxes
1.1%$2.2 million
What's in other taxesOther licenses and other selective sales taxes
  • Other licenses$1.7 million
  • Other selective sales taxes$532 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services24%

Fees for services
24%$49.7 million
What's in fees for servicesElectric power; sewer and 7 more
  • Electric power$26.8 million
  • Sewer$9.3 million
  • Water$6.8 million
  • Other service charges$4.3 million
  • Parks and recreation$1.4 million
  • Other school charges$606 thousand
  • School lunches$231 thousand
  • School tuition and transportation$218 thousand
  • Parking$68 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money0.6%

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

From the federal government
0.6%$1.3 million

State tax money12%

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

From the state
12%$25.1 million

Fines and other2.0%

Interest, rents and other
1.9%$4.0 million
Fines
<0.1%$81 thousand

Where it goes

Schools and colleges44%Water, sewer, trash and utilities18%Running the government and other costs17%Police, fire, courts and jails8.3%Interest on debt5.8%All other spending7.3%

What stands out

44%

of Belmont's spending goes to schools and colleges.Most U.S. townships and towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people spend nothing on this.

Spending by category100%

Schools and colleges
44%$115 million
What's in schools and collegesElementary and secondary schools
  • Elementary and secondary schools$115 million
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
18%$46.3 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesElectric power; sewer systems and 2 more
  • Electric power$26.0 million
  • Sewer systems$8.8 million
  • Water supply$6.6 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$4.9 million
Running the government and other costs
17%$45.2 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; government buildings and 2 more
  • Other and not broken out$30.4 million
  • Government buildings$10.6 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$3.2 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$1.1 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
8.3%$21.9 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 2 more
  • Police$12.1 million
  • Fire protection$8.8 million
  • Courts and legal services$509 thousand
  • Inspections and regulation$509 thousand
Interest on debt
5.8%$15.4 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on general debt; interest on electric power debt and 1 more
  • Interest on general debt$14.6 million
  • Interest on electric power debt$631 thousand
  • Interest on water supply debt$101 thousand
Sent to other local governments
2.7%$7.1 million
What's in sent to other local governmentsSent to local governments: other and not broken out and sent to the state government
  • Sent to local governments: other and not broken out$5.1 million
  • Sent to the state government$2.0 million
Roads, transit and parking
2.5%$6.7 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$6.7 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
1.6%$4.3 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$2.4 million
  • Libraries$1.9 million
Health and hospitals
0.4%$1.0 million
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$1.0 million
Social services
<0.1%$100 thousand
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$100 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Town of Belmont. 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 Town of Belmont 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.