City government · Jefferson County, NY

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Watertown took in $85.0 million and spent $96.1 million.

Latest recorded year: ended June 30, 2024Comes fromGoes to

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Where it comes from

County and local tax money32%Fees for services (water, electric power)23%Federal tax money17%City taxes13%State tax money9.6%Fines and other6.4%

What stands out

32%

of Watertown'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 taxes13%

Property tax
11%$9.5 million
Other taxes
1.6%$1.4 million
What's in other taxesPublic utility taxes; other licenses and 3 more
  • Public utility taxes$611 thousand
  • Other licenses$520 thousand
  • Other selective sales taxes$253 thousand
  • Occupation and business licenses$12 thousand
  • Amusement licenses$1 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services23%

Fees for services
23%$19.2 million
What's in fees for servicesWater; electric power and 5 more
  • Water$6.0 million
  • Electric power$5.8 million
  • Sewer$4.6 million
  • Garbage collection$1.1 million
  • Parks and recreation$881 thousand
  • Other service charges$792 thousand
  • Transit fares$116 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money17%

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

From the federal government
17%$14.0 million

State tax money9.6%

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

From the state
9.6%$8.2 million

County and local tax money32%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
32%$27.2 million

Fines and other6.4%

Interest, rents and other
6.2%$5.3 million
Fines
0.1%$122 thousand

Where it goes

Police, fire, courts and jails27%Running the government and other costs25%Water, sewer, trash and utilities19%Roads, transit and parking16%Parks, recreation and libraries10%All other spending3.9%

What stands out

10%

of Watertown's spending goes to parks, recreation and libraries.A typical U.S. city of 10,000 to 50,000 people spends 5.6%.

Spending by category100%

Police, fire, courts and jails
27%$25.6 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsFire protection; police and 2 more
  • Fire protection$13.2 million
  • Police$11.1 million
  • Inspections and regulation$791 thousand
  • Courts and legal services$480 thousand
Running the government and other costs
25%$24.3 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology) and 2 more
  • Other and not broken out$20.9 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$1.6 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$1.1 million
  • Government buildings$702 thousand
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
19%$17.8 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesSewer systems; water supply and 2 more
  • Sewer systems$11.0 million
  • Water supply$5.3 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$878 thousand
  • Electric power$673 thousand
Roads, transit and parking
16%$15.0 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways; public transit and 1 more
  • Roads and highways$13.6 million
  • Public transit$1.4 million
  • Parking$54 thousand
Parks, recreation and libraries
10%$9.7 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$8.0 million
  • Libraries$1.7 million
Interest on debt
1.8%$1.7 million
Housing and community development
1.3%$1.3 million
Health and hospitals
0.4%$390 thousand
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$390 thousand
Sent to other local governments
0.3%$304 thousand
What's in sent to other local governmentsSent to the state government and sent to local governments: other and not broken out
  • Sent to the state government$268 thousand
  • Sent to local governments: other and not broken out$36 thousand
Environment and natural resources
<0.1%$20 thousand
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$20 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

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

What this covers. The money of City of Watertown 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.