City government · Schenectady County, NY

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Schenectady took in $147 million and spent $158 million.

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

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Where it comes from

City taxes24%Fees for services (sewer, water)24%Federal tax money20%State tax money14%County and local tax money13%Fines and other6.5%

What stands out

13%

of Schenectady's money comes from county and other local tax money.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people gets 0.9%.

City taxes24%

Property tax
21%$30.4 million
Other taxes
3.0%$4.4 million
What's in other taxesOther licenses; public utility taxes and 2 more
  • Other licenses$1.8 million
  • Public utility taxes$1.5 million
  • Other selective sales taxes$532 thousand
  • Occupation and business licenses$531 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services24%

Fees for services
24%$34.8 million
What's in fees for servicesSewer; water and 5 more
  • Sewer$13.9 million
  • Water$9.0 million
  • Garbage collection$6.3 million
  • Other service charges$2.8 million
  • Parks and recreation$1.6 million
  • Housing$744 thousand
  • Parking$376 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money20%

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

From the federal government
20%$28.7 million

State tax money14%

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

From the state
14%$20.4 million

County and local tax money13%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
13%$18.6 million

Fines and other6.5%

Interest, rents and other
5.9%$8.6 million
Fines
0.7%$1.0 million

Where it goes

Running the government and other costs43%Police, fire, courts and jails26%Water, sewer, trash and utilities15%Roads, transit and parking6.7%Interest on debt5.9%All other spending4.1%

What stands out

43%

of Schenectady's spending goes to running the government and other costs.A typical U.S. city of 50,000+ people spends 16%.

Spending by category100%

Running the government and other costs
43%$67.1 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; government buildings and 2 more
  • Other and not broken out$62.7 million
  • Government buildings$2.0 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$1.3 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$1.1 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
26%$40.5 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 2 more
  • Police$25.6 million
  • Fire protection$13.2 million
  • Inspections and regulation$1.1 million
  • Courts and legal services$612 thousand
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
15%$23.7 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesSewer systems; water supply and 1 more
  • Sewer systems$11.7 million
  • Water supply$7.7 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$4.3 million
Roads, transit and parking
6.7%$10.5 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways and parking
  • Roads and highways$10.1 million
  • Parking$403 thousand
Interest on debt
5.9%$9.2 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
1.8%$2.8 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$2.8 million
Housing and community development
1.7%$2.8 million
Sent to other local governments
0.5%$783 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$783 thousand
Health and hospitals
<0.1%$154 thousand
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$154 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Schenectady. 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 Schenectady 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.