Township government · Montgomery County, PA

Lower Merion Township's money: where it comes from and where it goes

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2023), Lower Merion Township took in $111 million and spent $118 million.

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

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Where it comes from

Township taxes60%Fees for services (sewer, garbage collection)19%Fines and other14%State tax money5.3%Federal tax money1.1%County and local tax money0.3%

What stands out

31%

of Lower Merion Township's money comes from taxes other than property, sales and income taxes.A typical U.S. township or town of 50,000+ people gets 1.3%.

Township taxes60%

Other taxes
31%$34.7 million
What's in other taxesOccupation and business licenses; real estate and stock transfer taxes and 1 more
  • Occupation and business licenses$28.4 million
  • Real estate and stock transfer taxes$5.0 million
  • Public utility licenses$1.3 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Property tax
29%$32.2 million

Fees for services19%

Fees for services
19%$21.3 million
What's in fees for servicesSewer; garbage collection and 4 more
  • Sewer$8.6 million
  • Garbage collection$7.6 million
  • Other service charges$2.3 million
  • Parking$1.1 million
  • Parks and recreation$823 thousand
  • Road charges$798 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money1.1%

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

From the federal government
1.1%$1.3 million

State tax money5.3%

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

From the state
5.3%$5.9 million

County and local tax money0.3%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
0.3%$381 thousand

Fines and other14%

Interest, rents and other
13%$14.1 million
Fines
0.8%$897 thousand

Where it goes

Police, fire, courts and jails32%Water, sewer, trash and utilities19%Roads, transit and parking17%Running the government and other costs15%Parks, recreation and libraries13%All other spending4.3%

What stands out

19%

of Lower Merion Township's spending goes to water, sewer, trash and other utilities.Most U.S. townships and towns of 50,000+ people spend nothing on this.

Spending by category100%

Police, fire, courts and jails
32%$37.9 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 1 more
  • Police$32.2 million
  • Fire protection$5.3 million
  • Courts and legal services$394 thousand
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
19%$22.9 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesSewer systems; garbage and solid waste and 1 more
  • Sewer systems$10.9 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$10.6 million
  • Electric power$1.4 million
Roads, transit and parking
17%$19.6 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways and parking
  • Roads and highways$18.0 million
  • Parking$1.6 million
Running the government and other costs
15%$17.6 million
What's in running the government and other costsGovernment buildings; other and not broken out and 2 more
  • Government buildings$5.7 million
  • Other and not broken out$4.8 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$4.2 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$2.9 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
13%$15.1 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$9.8 million
  • Libraries$5.3 million
Interest on debt
2.6%$3.1 million
Housing and community development
1.5%$1.7 million
Environment and natural resources
0.2%$247 thousand
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$247 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Lower Merion Township. 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 Lower Merion Township 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.