EVANSVILLE FINANCES: 2024 Budget Forecast Shows a 7% Property Tax Revenue Boost Over Last Year Thanks to Reassessed Values
BY JOHNNY KINCAID, CCO STAFF WRITER
July 11, 2024
Part Two Of Our Series On The Evansville Current City Budget
In part two of our series on the Evansville City budget, we look at the revenue figures. We found the extra sting you felt when paying property taxes after reassessment resulted in a 7% increase in property tax revenue over last year’s budget. The City of Fort Wayne managed to lower the individual tax burden by 4.6% this year.
When the 2024 city budget was approved last fall, it was estimated that the city would bring in $238 million in revenues this year. This money pays for all employee salaries, a payroll of over $70 million, paving streets, protecting our safety, caring for our parks, and all of the other services provided by the city.
City revenue is divided between many accounts, the largest of which is the General Fund, with an income of $115 million.
Your property taxes are the biggest source of dollars going into the General Fund. The money we pay the government for letting us live on our land will total $72 million for this year, property tax revenue has increased $20 million since 2020. There is also a thing called the Property Tax Circuit Breaker, this is the amount of money refunded to people who are paying too big a share of their income in taxes. The Circuit Breaker will give $14 million back to struggling families.
You also provide local income tax funding, contributing $21.7 million to the general fund. Then, there’s the auto excise tax ($4 million), police and fire department revenues ($6 million), building commission fees ($1.4 million), cemetery revenue ($530,000), and fines from ordinance violations ($120,000).
City bus transportation generates $4.8 million through METS. Federal grants account for $916,000, down from $1.75 million in 2023. Regular fares will bring in $450,000, while the USI special bus services will generate $510,000, and bus bench advertising adds $155,000 to the bottom line.
The Evansville Parks Department has several revenue streams: Mesker Park Zoo will generate $1.8 million in sales this year, Swonder Ice Rink will bring in $600,000, revenue for city pools is projected to be $114,550 (this does not include the aquatics center), and the community center will make $44,500 in facility rentals. Parks will also receive $8.9 million from property taxes and $700,000 from auto excise taxes. The Parks and Recreation budget has grown 7.5% since 2023, totaling $12.3 million.
Local golfers will contribute $2.1 to the budget, and the new aquatic center will generate $1.6 million in revenue.
The city will get $15 million in casino proceeds (reduced by $10 million from past years} and another $5.8 million from the Alcohol and Beverage tax.
The city revenue spreadsheet is a 30-page web of different accounts and sub-accounts with no narrative to explain what the numbers mean. The expense spreadsheet is another 67 pages, making the entire reading project just shy of 100 pages of numbers.
For comparison, we looked up the budget for the City of Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Their budget is $290 million this year, and the sheet is user-friendly, allowing citizens to review a more understandable budget. In addition to the numbers and the breakouts for different departments, there are brief narratives, including the mission statement for each department. Also included are tables to show the classification of every paid position in the city and a pay range for each classification.
The Fort Wayne budget document is a prime example of transparency in government and that practice “Good Public Policy.” South Bend, Indiana, takes it further by inviting citizens to participate in the process with “Build Your Budget” public meetings.
Our next installment in the series will look at the magic of special TIF taxing districts. This should be an interesting read!
