City government · Cortland County, NY

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Cortland took in $35.3 million and spent $48.7 million.

Latest recorded year: ended December 31, 2023Estimated by the U.S. Census BureauComes fromGoes to

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Where it comes from

City taxes30%County and local tax money23%State tax money21%Fees for services (sewer, water)15%Fines and other7.3%Federal tax money3.1%

What stands out

23%

of Cortland's money comes from county and other local tax money.A typical U.S. city of 10,000 to 50,000 people gets 0.8%.

City taxes30%

Property tax
28%$9.7 million
Other taxes
2.7%$951 thousand
What's in other taxesOther licenses; public utility taxes and 1 more
  • Other licenses$587 thousand
  • Public utility taxes$348 thousand
  • Occupation and business licenses$16 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services15%

Fees for services
15%$5.3 million
What's in fees for servicesSewer; water and 4 more
  • Sewer$2.2 million
  • Water$2.1 million
  • Garbage collection$635 thousand
  • Other service charges$230 thousand
  • Parking$83 thousand
  • Parks and recreation$51 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money3.1%

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

From the federal government
3.1%$1.1 million

State tax money21%

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

From the state
21%$7.3 million

County and local tax money23%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
23%$8.3 million

Fines and other7.3%

Interest, rents and other
6.8%$2.4 million
Fines
0.5%$190 thousand

Where it goes

Roads, transit and parking29%Running the government and other costs26%Police, fire, courts and jails20%Water, sewer, trash and utilities14%Housing and community development5.7%All other spending5.5%

What stands out

29%

of Cortland's spending goes to roads, transit and parking.A typical U.S. city of 10,000 to 50,000 people spends 10%.

Spending by category100%

Roads, transit and parking
29%$14.2 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$14.2 million
Running the government and other costs
26%$12.7 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$11.5 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$867 thousand
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$276 thousand
  • Government buildings$77 thousand
Police, fire, courts and jails
20%$9.7 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 2 more
  • Police$5.4 million
  • Fire protection$3.7 million
  • Inspections and regulation$368 thousand
  • Courts and legal services$264 thousand
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
14%$6.7 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesSewer systems; water supply and 1 more
  • Sewer systems$3.0 million
  • Water supply$2.7 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$1.0 million
Housing and community development
5.7%$2.8 million
Interest on debt
2.9%$1.4 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
2.4%$1.1 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$1.1 million
Health and hospitals
0.2%$93 thousand
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$93 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Cortland. U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, individual unit file, fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. Most of this government's figures were estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau from a sample; the government did not report them itself.

What this covers. The money of City of Cortland 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.