City government · Columbia County, WI

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2021), Columbus took in $18.4 million and spent $17.0 million.

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

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Where it comes from

Fees for services (electric power, water)61%City taxes24%State tax money7.2%Fines and other5.6%County and local tax money2.0%

What stands out

61%

of Columbus' money comes from fees for services such as water, sewer and parking.A typical U.S. city, town or village of under 10,000 people gets 35%.

City taxes24%

Property tax
23%$4.2 million
Other taxes
1.1%$208 thousand
What's in other taxesOther licenses; occupation and business licenses and 1 more
  • Other licenses$99 thousand
  • Occupation and business licenses$71 thousand
  • Other selective sales taxes$38 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services61%

Fees for services
61%$11.2 million
What's in fees for servicesElectric power; water and 6 more
  • Electric power$7.5 million
  • Water$1.6 million
  • Sewer$1.6 million
  • Garbage collection$345 thousand
  • Parks and recreation$148 thousand
  • Other service charges$55 thousand
  • Other government-run businesses$14 thousand
  • Road charges$9 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

State tax money7.2%

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

From the state
7.2%$1.3 million

County and local tax money2.0%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
2.0%$369 thousand

Fines and other5.6%

Interest, rents and other
4.6%$843 thousand
Fines
1.0%$188 thousand

Where it goes

Water, sewer, trash and utilities60%Running the government and other costs13%Police, fire, courts and jails9.4%Interest on debt6.2%Parks, recreation and libraries5.8%All other spending6.1%

What stands out

60%

of Columbus' spending goes to water, sewer, trash and other utilities.A typical U.S. city, town or village of under 10,000 people spends 32%.

Spending by category100%

Water, sewer, trash and utilities
60%$10.2 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesElectric power; sewer systems and 2 more
  • Electric power$7.2 million
  • Sewer systems$1.3 million
  • Water supply$1.3 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$352 thousand
Running the government and other costs
13%$2.1 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; finance, tax collection and budgeting and 3 more
  • Other and not broken out$1.2 million
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$384 thousand
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$372 thousand
  • Government buildings$116 thousand
  • Other government-run businesses$66 thousand
Police, fire, courts and jails
9.4%$1.6 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; courts and legal services and 2 more
  • Police$1.1 million
  • Courts and legal services$221 thousand
  • Fire protection$180 thousand
  • Inspections and regulation$64 thousand
Interest on debt
6.2%$1.1 million
Parks, recreation and libraries
5.8%$978 thousand
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$559 thousand
  • Libraries$419 thousand
Roads, transit and parking
4.8%$816 thousand
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways
  • Roads and highways$816 thousand
Health and hospitals
1.2%$208 thousand
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$208 thousand
Environment and natural resources
<0.1%$6 thousand
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$6 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Columbus. 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 Columbus 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.