City government · Davidson County, NC

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Lexington took in $117 million and spent $104 million.

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

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (electric power, gas)74%City taxes18%Fines and other3.9%State tax money3.2%Federal tax money0.2%

What stands out

74%

of Lexington's money comes from fees for services such as water, sewer and parking.A typical U.S. city of 10,000 to 50,000 people gets 30%.

City taxes18%

Property tax
10%$12.3 million
Sales tax
6.3%$7.4 million
Other taxes
1.7%$1.9 million
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes; other taxes not classified elsewhere and 3 more
  • Other selective sales taxes$573 thousand
  • Other taxes not classified elsewhere$556 thousand
  • Motor vehicle licenses$448 thousand
  • Alcoholic beverage taxes$351 thousand
  • Other licenses$16 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services74%

Fees for services
74%$86.9 million
What's in fees for servicesElectric power; gas and 7 more
  • Electric power$45.8 million
  • Gas$13.5 million
  • Sewer$10.5 million
  • Water$6.8 million
  • Liquor stores$6.8 million
  • Garbage collection$1.6 million
  • Parks and recreation$1.1 million
  • Other service charges$777 thousand
  • Other government-run businesses$112 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%$230 thousand

State tax money3.2%

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

From the state
3.2%$3.7 million

County and local tax money<0.1%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
<0.1%$2 thousand

Fines and other3.9%

Interest, rents and other
3.9%$4.5 million
Fines
<0.1%$4 thousand

Where it goes

Water, sewer, trash and utilities68%Police, fire, courts and jails15%Running the government and other costs10%Parks, recreation and libraries3.3%Roads, transit and parking2.8%All other spending1.4%

What stands out

68%

of Lexington'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
68%$70.8 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesElectric power; gas supply and 4 more
  • Electric power$39.7 million
  • Gas supply$9.6 million
  • Sewer systems$7.6 million
  • Liquor stores$6.1 million
  • Water supply$4.8 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$3.0 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
15%$15.2 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 2 more
  • Police$8.0 million
  • Fire protection$5.7 million
  • Inspections and regulation$1.5 million
  • Courts and legal services$27 thousand
Running the government and other costs
10%$10.4 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$6.4 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$2.8 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$899 thousand
  • Government buildings$359 thousand
Parks, recreation and libraries
3.3%$3.5 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$3.5 million
Roads, transit and parking
2.8%$2.9 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways and public transit
  • Roads and highways$2.9 million
  • Public transit$5 thousand
Sent to other local governments
0.6%$640 thousand
What's in sent to other local governmentsSent to local governments: other and not broken out and sent to the state government
  • Sent to local governments: other and not broken out$581 thousand
  • Sent to the state government$59 thousand
Housing and community development
0.5%$474 thousand
Interest on debt
0.3%$305 thousand
What's in interest on debtInterest on general debt; interest on electric power debt and 2 more
  • Interest on general debt$188 thousand
  • Interest on electric power debt$62 thousand
  • Interest on water supply debt$41 thousand
  • Interest on gas supply debt$14 thousand
Health and hospitals
<0.1%$29 thousand
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$29 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Lexington. 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 Lexington 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.