Town government · Washington County, RI

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Charlestown took in $29.9 million and spent $27.3 million.

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

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Where it comes from

Town taxes81%State tax money9.5%Fees for services (garbage collection, parks and recreation)6.9%Fines and other2.1%

What stands out

6.9%

of Charlestown's money comes from fees for services such as water, sewer and parking.Most U.S. townships and towns of under 10,000 people get none.

Town taxes81%

Property tax
80%$24.0 million
Other taxes
1.1%$339 thousand
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes and other licenses
  • Other selective sales taxes$316 thousand
  • Other licenses$23 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services6.9%

Fees for services
6.9%$2.1 million
What's in fees for servicesOther service charges; garbage collection and 1 more
  • Other service charges$1.7 million
  • Garbage collection$261 thousand
  • Parks and recreation$62 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

State tax money9.5%

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

From the state
9.5%$2.9 million

Fines and other2.1%

Interest, rents and other
2.0%$610 thousand
Fines
<0.1%$18 thousand

Where it goes

Schools and colleges51%Running the government and other costs22%Police, fire, courts and jails13%Roads, transit and parking5.1%Parks, recreation and libraries3.7%All other spending5.2%

What stands out

51%

of Charlestown's spending goes to schools and colleges.Most U.S. townships and towns of under 10,000 people spend nothing on this.

Spending by category100%

Schools and colleges
51%$13.9 million
What's in schools and collegesElementary and secondary schools
  • Elementary and secondary schools$13.9 million
Running the government and other costs
22%$6.1 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; finance, tax collection and budgeting and 2 more
  • Other and not broken out$4.4 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$678 thousand
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$588 thousand
  • Government buildings$414 thousand
Police, fire, courts and jails
13%$3.5 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; inspections and regulation and 1 more
  • Police$3.2 million
  • Inspections and regulation$312 thousand
  • Courts and legal services$10 thousand
Roads, transit and parking
5.1%$1.4 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$1.4 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
3.7%$1.0 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$732 thousand
  • Libraries$270 thousand
Health and hospitals
3.3%$891 thousand
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$891 thousand
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
1.7%$453 thousand
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesGarbage and solid waste and sewer systems
  • Garbage and solid waste$250 thousand
  • Sewer systems$203 thousand
Interest on debt
0.3%$75 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

Town of Charlestown. 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 Town of Charlestown 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.