City government · Chittenden County, VT

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended June 30, 2024), Burlington took in $251 million and spent $266 million.

Latest recorded year: ended June 30, 2024Comes from Goes to

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (electric power, airport)56%City taxes24%State tax money13%Fines and other5.7%Federal tax money0.7%

What stands out

56%

of Burlington's money comes from fees for services such as water, sewer and parking.A typical U.S. city of 10,000 to 50,000 people gets 30%.

City taxes24%

Property tax

18%$44.5 million

Sales tax

3.4%$8.5 million

Other taxes

2.6%$6.6 million

What's in other taxesOccupation and business licenses and public utility taxes

Occupation and business licenses$4.2 million
Public utility taxes$2.5 million

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services56%

Fees for services

56%$142 million

What's in fees for servicesElectric power; airport and 7 more

Electric power$64.5 million
Airport$25.9 million
Other service charges$20.2 million
Sewer$11.7 million
Water$9.0 million
Parks and recreation$5.5 million
Parking$2.4 million
Road charges$2.1 million
Housing$410 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money0.7%

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

From the federal government

0.7%$1.8 million

State tax money13%

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

From the state

13%$33.9 million

Fines and other5.7%

Interest, rents and other

5.7%$14.4 million

Where it goes

Water, sewer, trash and utilities33%Running the government and other costs23%Roads, transit and parking17%Police, fire, courts and jails14%Parks, recreation and libraries6.1%All other spending7.3%

What stands out

3.1%

of Burlington's spending goes to housing and community development.Most U.S. cities of 10,000 to 50,000 people spend nothing on this.

Spending by category100%

Water, sewer, trash and utilities

33%$87.8 million

What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesElectric power; sewer systems and 1 more

Electric power$65.9 million
Sewer systems$12.9 million
Water supply$9.1 million

Running the government and other costs

23%$61.6 million

What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology) and 1 more

Other and not broken out$51.8 million
Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$6.2 million
Finance, tax collection and budgeting$3.6 million

Roads, transit and parking

17%$43.9 million

What's in roads, transit and parkingAirports; roads and highways and 1 more

Airports$32.6 million
Roads and highways$9.1 million
Parking$2.2 million

Police, fire, courts and jails

14%$36.8 million

What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 2 more

Police$17.7 million
Fire protection$15.8 million
Inspections and regulation$2.2 million
Courts and legal services$1.1 million

Parks, recreation and libraries

6.1%$16.2 million

What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries

Parks and recreation$13.4 million
Libraries$2.7 million

Interest on debt

4.2%$11.2 million

What's in interest on debtInterest on general debt; interest on electric power debt and 1 more

Interest on general debt$7.6 million
Interest on electric power debt$3.3 million
Interest on water supply debt$308 thousand

Housing and community development

3.1%$8.1 million

Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Burlington. 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 City of Burlington 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.