City government · Lauderdale County, MS

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended September 30, 2023), Meridian took in $73.5 million and spent $50.4 million.

Latest recorded year: ended September 30, 2023Comes fromGoes to

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (water, sewer)34%City taxes32%State tax money29%Fines and other4.5%County and local tax money0.2%

What stands out

29%

of Meridian's money comes from state tax money.A typical U.S. city of 10,000 to 50,000 people gets 7%.

City taxes32%

Property tax
28%$20.5 million
Other taxes
4.3%$3.2 million
What's in other taxesPublic utility taxes and occupation and business licenses
  • Public utility taxes$2.9 million
  • Occupation and business licenses$315 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services34%

Fees for services
34%$25.0 million
What's in fees for servicesWater; sewer and 3 more
  • Water$11.6 million
  • Sewer$9.1 million
  • Garbage collection$3.4 million
  • Other service charges$697 thousand
  • Parks and recreation$258 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

State tax money29%

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

From the state
29%$21.3 million

County and local tax money0.2%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
0.2%$128 thousand

Fines and other4.5%

Interest, rents and other
3.8%$2.8 million
Fines
0.7%$511 thousand

Where it goes

Water, sewer, trash and utilities34%Police, fire, courts and jails30%Roads, transit and parking12%Running the government and other costs11%Parks, recreation and libraries5.1%All other spending7.6%

What stands out

34%

of Meridian'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
34%$17.3 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesWater supply; sewer systems and 1 more
  • Water supply$7.5 million
  • Sewer systems$6.8 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$3.1 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
30%$15.1 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice and fire protection
  • Police$7.9 million
  • Fire protection$7.1 million
Roads, transit and parking
12%$5.9 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways and parking
  • Roads and highways$5.9 million
  • Parking$65 thousand
Running the government and other costs
11%$5.7 million
What's in running the government and other costsFinance, tax collection and budgeting; central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology) and 1 more
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$3.3 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$1.9 million
  • Other and not broken out$493 thousand
Parks, recreation and libraries
5.1%$2.6 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$2.6 million
Interest on debt
4.7%$2.4 million
What's in interest on debtInterest on water supply debt and interest on general debt
  • Interest on water supply debt$1.4 million
  • Interest on general debt$994 thousand
Housing and community development
2.7%$1.4 million
Sent to other local governments
0.2%$104 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$104 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Meridian. U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, individual unit file, fiscal year ended September 30, 2023.

What this covers. The money of City of Meridian 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.