City government · Columbia County, WI

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

In the latest recorded fiscal year (ended December 31, 2021), Portage took in $19.1 million and spent $18.2 million.

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

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Where it comes from

City taxes35%State tax money27%Fees for services (sewer, water)22%Fines and other11%County and local tax money3.6%Federal tax money1.4%

What stands out

27%

of Portage's money comes from state tax money.A typical U.S. city of 10,000 to 50,000 people gets 7%.

City taxes35%

Property tax
32%$6.2 million
Other taxes
2.2%$416 thousand
What's in other taxesOther selective sales taxes; occupation and business licenses and 1 more
  • Other selective sales taxes$153 thousand
  • Occupation and business licenses$152 thousand
  • Other licenses$111 thousand

Amounts are by Census tax category.

Fees for services22%

Fees for services
22%$4.3 million
What's in fees for servicesSewer; water and 6 more
  • Sewer$2.0 million
  • Water$1.8 million
  • Housing$169 thousand
  • Other service charges$127 thousand
  • Parks and recreation$78 thousand
  • Road charges$24 thousand
  • Garbage collection$6 thousand
  • Parks, land and natural resources$2 thousand

Amounts are by Census type of charge.

Federal tax money1.4%

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

From the federal government
1.4%$271 thousand

State tax money27%

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

From the state
27%$5.2 million

County and local tax money3.6%

Money passed on by the county or other local governments.

From the county and other local governments
3.6%$689 thousand

Fines and other11%

Interest, rents and other
10%$1.9 million
Fines
0.6%$117 thousand

Where it goes

Police, fire, courts and jails26%Water, sewer, trash and utilities23%Roads, transit and parking17%Running the government and other costs15%Parks, recreation and libraries14%All other spending4.7%

What stands out

14%

of Portage'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%

Police, fire, courts and jails
26%$4.7 million
What's in police, fire, courts and jailsPolice; fire protection and 2 more
  • Police$3.1 million
  • Fire protection$1.4 million
  • Courts and legal services$143 thousand
  • Inspections and regulation$96 thousand
Water, sewer, trash and utilities
23%$4.2 million
What's in water, sewer, trash and utilitiesSewer systems; water supply and 1 more
  • Sewer systems$1.9 million
  • Water supply$1.9 million
  • Garbage and solid waste$405 thousand
Roads, transit and parking
17%$3.0 million
What's in roads, transit and parkingRoads and highways; public transit and 1 more
  • Roads and highways$2.0 million
  • Public transit$932 thousand
  • Airports$60 thousand
Running the government and other costs
15%$2.8 million
What's in running the government and other costsOther and not broken out; central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology) and 3 more
  • Other and not broken out$1.7 million
  • Central staff services (personnel, purchasing, technology)$516 thousand
  • Government buildings$294 thousand
  • Finance, tax collection and budgeting$275 thousand
  • Other government-run businesses$52 thousand
Parks, recreation and libraries
14%$2.6 million
What's in parks, recreation and librariesParks and recreation and libraries
  • Parks and recreation$1.8 million
  • Libraries$751 thousand
Interest on debt
4.0%$730 thousand
Housing and community development
0.6%$102 thousand
Health and hospitals
<0.1%$11 thousand
What's in health and hospitalsPublic health
  • Public health$11 thousand
Environment and natural resources
<0.1%$4 thousand
What's in environment and natural resourcesNatural resources, farming and conservation
  • Natural resources, farming and conservation$4 thousand
Sources and moreWhere these numbers come from and what they cover

City of Portage. 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 Portage 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.