City government · Otter Tail County, MN

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Perham took in $31.7 million and spent $31.2 million.

Latest recorded year: ended December 31, 2023Comes from Goes to

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (gas, liquor stores)59%Fines and other28%City taxes9.0%State tax money3.1%County and local tax money0.7%Federal tax money0.2%

What stands out

28%

of Perham's money comes from interest, rents and other revenue.A typical U.S. city, town or village of under 10,000 people gets 3%.

City taxes9.0%

Property tax

5.9%$1.9 million

Sales tax

2.6%$829 thousand

Other taxes

0.5%$149 thousand

What's in other taxesOther licenses and other selective sales taxes

Other licenses$93 thousand
Other selective sales taxes$56 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services59%

Fees for services

59%$18.5 million

What's in fees for servicesGas; liquor stores and 6 more

Gas$9.5 million
Liquor stores$5.2 million
Sewer$1.8 million
Water$1.4 million
Other service charges$379 thousand
Garbage collection$148 thousand
Airport$55 thousand
Road charges$49 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money0.2%

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

From the federal government

0.2%$77 thousand

State tax money3.1%

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

From the state

3.1%$968 thousand

County and local tax money0.7%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments

0.7%$211 thousand

Fines and other28%

Interest, rents and other

28%$9.0 million

Fines

<0.1%$11 thousand

Where it goes

Water, sewer, trash and utilities50%Roads, transit and parking31%Running the government and other costs7.8%Police, fire, courts and jails5.2%Parks, recreation and libraries4.7%Interest on debt1.5%

What stands out

31%

of Perham's spending goes to roads, transit and parking.A typical U.S. city, town or village of under 10,000 people spends 10%.

Spending by category100%

Water, sewer, trash and utilities

50%$15.7 million

What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesGas supply; liquor stores and 3 more

Gas supply$8.4 million
Liquor stores$3.9 million
Sewer systems$1.9 million
Water supply$1.3 million
Garbage and solid waste$95 thousand

Roads, transit and parking

31%$9.5 million

What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways and airports

Roads and highways$9.5 million
Airports$61 thousand

Running the government and other costs

7.8%$2.4 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$2.1 million
Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$201 thousand
Finance, tax collection and budgeting$173 thousand

Police, fire, courts and jails

5.2%$1.6 million

What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice and fire protection

Police$1.3 million
Fire protection$310 thousand

Parks, recreation and libraries

4.7%$1.5 million

What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries

Parks and recreation$1.2 million
Libraries$271 thousand

Interest on debt

1.5%$482 thousand

What's in interest on debtInterest on general debt and interest on water supply debt

Interest on general debt$459 thousand
Interest on water supply debt$23 thousand

Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Perham. 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 Perham 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.