Town government · Worcester County, MA

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2022), Sterling took in $40.5 million and spent $38.4 million.

Latest recorded year: ended June 30, 2022Comes fromGoes to

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Where it comes from

Town taxes56%Fees for services (electric power, water)30%State tax money11%Fines and other2.4%

What stands out

30%

of Sterling's money comes from fees for services such as water, sewer and parking.Most U.S. townships and towns of under 10,000 people get none.

Town taxes56%

Property tax
54%$21.9 million
Other taxes
2.1%$858 thousand
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes and other licenses
  • Other selective sales taxes$534 thousand
  • Other licenses$324 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services30%

Fees for services
30%$12.4 million
What's in fees for servicesElectric power; water and 1 more
  • Electric power$10.9 million
  • Water$1.1 million
  • Other service charges$347 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

State tax money11%

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

From the state
11%$4.4 million

Fines and other2.4%

Interest, rents and other
2.0%$818 thousand
Fines
0.4%$158 thousand

Where it goes

Sent to other local governments34%Water, sewer, trash and utilities31%Running the government and other costs15%Police, fire, courts and jails9.3%Roads, transit and parking5.2%All other spending4.5%

What stands out

34%

of Sterling's spending goes to local governments.Most U.S. townships and towns of under 10,000 people spend nothing on this.

Spending by category100%

Sent to other local governments
34%$13.2 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$13.1 million
  • Sent to the state government$62 thousand
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
31%$12.1 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesElectric power; water supply and 1 more
  • Electric power$10.6 million
  • Water supply$863 thousand
  • Garbage and solid waste$586 thousand
Running the government and other costs
15%$5.9 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$4.6 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$615 thousand
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$432 thousand
  • Government buildings$223 thousand
Police, fire, courts and jails
9.3%$3.6 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 2 more
  • Police$2.2 million
  • Fire protection$1.2 million
  • Inspections and regulation$157 thousand
  • Courts and legal services$31 thousand
Roads, transit and parking
5.2%$2.0 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$2.0 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
2.3%$873 thousand
What's in parks, recreation and librariesLibraries and parks and recreation
  • Libraries$492 thousand
  • Parks and recreation$381 thousand
Health and hospitals
1.7%$666 thousand
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$666 thousand
Interest on debt
0.2%$88 thousand
What's in interest on debtInterest on general debt and interest on water supply debt
  • Interest on general debt$77 thousand
  • Interest on water supply debt$11 thousand
Social services
0.1%$52 thousand
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$52 thousand
Environment and natural resources
<0.1%$36 thousand
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$36 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Town of Sterling. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Census of Governments, Finance, individual unit file, fiscal year ended June 30, 2022. The Census record for this government is from the 2022 survey, the newest on file.

What this covers. The money of Town of Sterling 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.