City government · Lorain County, OH

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2021), Amherst took in $31.7 million and spent $28.4 million.

Latest recorded year: ended December 31, 2021Comes fromGoes to

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (electric power, water)58%City taxes26%Fines and other7.6%State tax money5.2%Federal tax money2.0%County and local tax money0.8%

What stands out

17%

of Amherst's money comes from a personal income tax.Most U.S. cities of 10,000 to 50,000 people get none.

City taxes26%

Individual income tax
17%$5.5 million
Property tax
3.9%$1.2 million
Business income tax
2.6%$835 thousand
Other taxes
2.3%$726 thousand
What's in other taxesOccupation and business licenses; motor fuel taxes and 3 more
  • Occupation and business licenses$307 thousand
  • Motor fuel taxes$251 thousand
  • Motor vehicle licenses$113 thousand
  • Other selective sales taxes$32 thousand
  • Alcoholic beverage licenses$23 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services58%

Fees for services
58%$18.5 million
What's in fees for servicesElectric power; water and 4 more
  • Electric power$12.9 million
  • Water$2.7 million
  • Sewer$2.4 million
  • Other service charges$358 thousand
  • Parks and recreation$55 thousand
  • Other government-run businesses$20 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money2.0%

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

From the federal government
2.0%$640 thousand

State tax money5.2%

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

From the state
5.2%$1.6 million

County and local tax money0.8%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
0.8%$250 thousand

Fines and other7.6%

Interest, rents and other
7.6%$2.4 million
Fines
<0.1%$12 thousand

Where it goes

Water, sewer, trash and utilities64%Police, fire, courts and jails18%Roads, transit and parking12%Running the government and other costs4.4%Interest on debt0.7%All other spending1.4%

What stands out

64%

of Amherst'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
64%$18.1 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesElectric power; water supply and 1 more
  • Electric power$12.0 million
  • Water supply$3.1 million
  • Sewer systems$3.0 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
18%$5.1 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 1 more
  • Police$3.9 million
  • Fire protection$1.0 million
  • Courts and legal services$238 thousand
Roads, transit and parking
12%$3.4 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$3.4 million
Running the government and other costs
4.4%$1.3 million
What's in running the government and other costsCentral staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology); finance, tax collection and budgeting and 1 more
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$666 thousand
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$485 thousand
  • Other government-run businesses$105 thousand
Interest on debt
0.7%$209 thousand
What's in interest on debtInterest on general debt and interest on water supply debt
  • Interest on general debt$201 thousand
  • Interest on water supply debt$8 thousand
Parks, recreation and libraries
0.7%$200 thousand
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$200 thousand
Sent to other local governments
0.4%$106 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$106 thousand
Social services
0.3%$87 thousand
What's in social servicesOther public welfare
  • Other public welfare$87 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Amherst. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Census of Governments, Finance, individual unit file, fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. The Census record for this government is from the 2022 survey, the newest on file.

What this covers. The money of City of Amherst 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.