City government · Washington County, MN

Forest Lake's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Forest Lake took in $29.0 million and spent $34.7 million.

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

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Where it comes from

City taxes50%Fees for services (sewer, water)38%State tax money8.2%Fines and other4.1%Federal tax money<0.1%

What stands out

45%

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

City taxes50%

Property tax
45%$13.1 million
Other taxes
4.9%$1.4 million
What's in other taxesPublic utility taxes and other licenses
  • Public utility taxes$809 thousand
  • Other licenses$609 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services38%

Fees for services
38%$10.9 million
What's in fees for servicesSewer; water and 4 more
  • Sewer$4.9 million
  • Water$4.3 million
  • Other service charges$853 thousand
  • Road charges$690 thousand
  • Airport$105 thousand
  • Parks and recreation$87 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money<0.1%

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

From the federal government
<0.1%$16 thousand

State tax money8.2%

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

From the state
8.2%$2.4 million

Fines and other4.1%

Interest, rents and other
3.8%$1.1 million
Fines
0.3%$99 thousand

Where it goes

Water, sewer, trash and utilities47%Police, fire, courts and jails20%Roads, transit and parking15%Running the government and other costs8.9%Parks, recreation and libraries4.2%All other spending4.7%

What stands out

47%

of Forest Lake's 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%$16.4 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesSewer systems; water supply and 1 more
  • Sewer systems$8.3 million
  • Water supply$8.1 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$17 thousand
Police, fire, courts and jails
20%$7.1 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice and fire protection
  • Police$5.8 million
  • Fire protection$1.2 million
Roads, transit and parking
15%$5.0 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways and airports
  • Roads and highways$4.7 million
  • Airports$349 thousand
Running the government and other costs
8.9%$3.1 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; finance, tax collection and budgeting and 1 more
  • Other and not broken out$1.8 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$1.2 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$58 thousand
Parks, recreation and libraries
4.2%$1.5 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$1.5 million
Interest on debt
3.6%$1.2 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on general debt and interest on water supply debt
  • Interest on general debt$948 thousand
  • Interest on water supply debt$294 thousand
Housing and community development
1.1%$378 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Forest Lake. 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 Forest Lake 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.