Our elected officials and City staff are often asked how the City receives operating money (General Fund) and where that money is spent. This article will explain the types of revenue that come into the City as well as how that revenue is spent.
Let’s begin by talking about what types of revenue come into the City. Residents of O’Fallon pay personal property taxes each year with the City receiving only 11% of the total property tax bill (unchanged from last year). As you can see from the following pie chart, O’Fallon schools receive the highest percentage of property tax dollars (63%).
In budget year 2004-2005, the City will receive a total of $2,504,528 in property tax revenue. The pie chart below shows how the City’s 11% portion of these taxes is allocated within the City budget. As you can see, only 7% goes into the General Fund.
The City also receives revenue into its General Fund from several other sources. The pie chart below depicts our revenue sources as well as what percentage of the General Fund each represents. Sales tax is expected to generate 56% of our income into the General Fund this year, which is why sales tax revenue is so important to us, especially since revenue that we receive from the State has been declining. Needless to say, the generation of new sales tax revenue has become even more essential for our future.
Now that we know how the money comes into the City’s General Fund, the next logical thing to talk about is how the money is spent. The pie chart below shows that the lion’s share of the General Fund is allocated to Police Department expenditures (44%), General expenditures (24%) and Street expenditures (19%). Note that Administration has been reduced to 3% of expenses.
The total City budget for 2004-2005 is $47,569,546, reflecting a 15.7% decrease over last year’s budget. This decrease is primarily due to the construction costs for the new Public Safety Facility occurring in last year’s budget. The chart below shows how the money in this year’s budget will be spent. Water & Sewer Funds and Capital Projects account for 67% of the total expenditures for this year. The General Fund expenditures will amount to only 22% of the total budget.
Now you know how the City receives its operating money, where that money is spent and our total budget for 2004-2005. The next time you are asked by a co-worker, neighbor, friend or acquaintance you will be able to share the information you have learned.
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