City government · Lorain County, OH

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2021), Oberlin took in $31.8 million and spent $31.0 million.

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

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (electric power, water)57%City taxes30%Fines and other8.8%State tax money4.2%

What stands out

26%

of Oberlin's money comes from a personal income tax.Most U.S. cities, towns and villages of under 10,000 people get none.

City taxes30%

Individual income tax
26%$8.1 million
Property tax
4.1%$1.3 million
Other taxes
0.8%$252 thousand
What's in other taxesOther licenses
  • Other licenses$252 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services57%

Fees for services
57%$18.0 million
What's in fees for servicesElectric power; water and 3 more
  • Electric power$12.9 million
  • Water$2.0 million
  • Sewer$2.0 million
  • Garbage collection$836 thousand
  • Other service charges$310 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

State tax money4.2%

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

From the state
4.2%$1.3 million

Fines and other8.8%

Interest, rents and other
6.5%$2.1 million
Fines
2.3%$720 thousand

Where it goes

Water, sewer, trash and utilities44%Running the government and other costs36%Police, fire, courts and jails14%Roads, transit and parking2.2%Parks, recreation and libraries1.8%All other spending2.3%

What stands out

36%

of Oberlin's spending goes to running the government and other costs.A typical U.S. city, town or village of under 10,000 people spends 22%.

Spending by category100%

Water, sewer, trash and utilities
44%$13.5 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesElectric power; water supply and 2 more
  • Electric power$10.9 million
  • Water supply$1.2 million
  • Sewer systems$919 thousand
  • Garbage and solid waste$545 thousand
Running the government and other costs
36%$11.2 million
What's in running the government and other costsCentral staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology) and other and not broken out
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$6.0 million
  • Other and not broken out$5.1 million
Police, fire, courts and jails
14%$4.4 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice
  • Police$4.4 million
Roads, transit and parking
2.2%$695 thousand
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$695 thousand
Parks, recreation and libraries
1.8%$570 thousand
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation
  • Parks and recreation$570 thousand
Sent to other local governments
1.0%$295 thousand
What's in sent to other local governmentsSent to the state government
  • Sent to the state government$295 thousand
Health and hospitals
0.7%$218 thousand
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$218 thousand
Interest on debt
0.7%$213 thousand
What's in interest on debtInterest on general debt and interest on water supply debt
  • Interest on general debt$166 thousand
  • Interest on water supply debt$47 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Oberlin. 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 Oberlin 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.