Borough government · Lancaster County, PA

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Elizabethtown took in $13.9 million and spent $18.6 million.

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

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Where it comes from

Borough taxes44%Fees for services (sewer, garbage collection)37%Fines and other6.9%State tax money5.9%Federal tax money5.6%County and local tax money0.2%

What stands out

12%

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

Borough taxes44%

Property tax
25%$3.5 million
Individual income tax
12%$1.7 million
Other taxes
7.3%$1.0 million
What's in other taxesOccupation and business licenses; real estate and stock transfer taxes and 1 more
  • Occupation and business licenses$635 thousand
  • Real estate and stock transfer taxes$238 thousand
  • Public utility licenses$134 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services37%

Fees for services
37%$5.1 million
What's in fees for servicesSewer; garbage collection and 4 more
  • Sewer$3.7 million
  • Garbage collection$1.2 million
  • Other service charges$244 thousand
  • Transit fares$44 thousand
  • Parking$18 thousand
  • Parks and recreation$4 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money5.6%

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

From the federal government
5.6%$777 thousand

State tax money5.9%

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

From the state
5.9%$817 thousand

County and local tax money0.2%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
0.2%$28 thousand

Fines and other6.9%

Interest, rents and other
6.4%$889 thousand
Fines
0.5%$64 thousand

Where it goes

Water, sewer, trash and utilities32%Parks, recreation and libraries19%Police, fire, courts and jails17%Roads, transit and parking14%Running the government and other costs12%All other spending6.7%

What stands out

19%

of Elizabethtown'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%

Water, sewer, trash and utilities
32%$5.9 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesSewer systems and garbage and solid waste
  • Sewer systems$3.6 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$2.3 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
19%$3.5 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$3.4 million
  • Libraries$92 thousand
Police, fire, courts and jails
17%$3.2 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; inspections and regulation and 2 more
  • Police$2.8 million
  • Inspections and regulation$173 thousand
  • Fire protection$170 thousand
  • Courts and legal services$19 thousand
Roads, transit and parking
14%$2.6 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways and public transit
  • Roads and highways$2.5 million
  • Public transit$41 thousand
Running the government and other costs
12%$2.2 million
What's in running the government and other costsFinance, tax collection and budgeting; government buildings and 2 more
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$1.3 million
  • Government buildings$583 thousand
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$229 thousand
  • Other and not broken out$98 thousand
Housing and community development
5.4%$1.0 million
Interest on debt
0.7%$138 thousand
Health and hospitals
0.4%$83 thousand
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$83 thousand
Environment and natural resources
<0.1%$11 thousand
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$11 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Borough of Elizabethtown. 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 Borough of Elizabethtown 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.