Where does municipal finance data come from?

Municipal finance data comes from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Report of Local Government Finance (RLGF), filed annually by every Georgia city and county under O.C.G.A. § 36-81-8.1. Audits are also filed with the GA DOAA (Department of Audits and Accounts).

What are the main revenue sources for a municipality?

Most Georgia cities rely on property taxes (ad valorem), local option sales tax (LOST, 1%), special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST, 1%), franchise fees on utilities, insurance premium taxes, occupation tax (business license), hotel/motel taxes, charges for services, and state-shared revenues. Georgia has no state-level revenue sharing to municipalities beyond specific grants.

What is a General Fund and why does it matter?

The General Fund is the municipality's primary operating fund. It covers core services like police, fire, public works, and administration. A healthy General Fund balance (typically 25-50% of annual expenditures) indicates the town can handle unexpected expenses without raising taxes or cutting services.

How current is this financial data?

GA DCA RLGF data typically lags 12-18 months behind the current fiscal year (which ends December 31 or June 30 depending on the city). The most recent year with complete data is usually one to two fiscal years prior.

MyTownView

Acworth, GA

Acworth, GA Municipal Budget — Revenue & Spending Breakdown

Acworth Municipal Budget

IL Comptroller

Showing latest fiscal year with year-over-year changes. Full budget history available with a paid plan. See products & pricing →

Finances — FY 2025

IL Comptroller

Total Revenuei

$178.6M

-0.8%YoY

Total Expenditurei

$122.6M

+12.7%YoY

Property Tax Revenuei

$114K

0.1%of revenue

Revenue vs Expenditurei

$178.6M

$122.6M

Revenue

Expenditure

+$56.1M surplus

Revenue Sources — vs prior yeari

Total Other Sources

+5.4%16.6%$29.7M

Total Enterprise Revenue

+2.4%11.6%$20.7M

Total Part I - Tax Revenues

+8.9%10.4%$18.6M

Enterprise - Transit

+1.7%9.6%$17.1M

Total Section 1A - General Property Taxes

+12.5%6.7%$12.0M

Total Part III

-0.1%6.2%$11.1M

Real Property Taxes - Current Year

+14.7%6%$10.8M

Total Intergov from Local

+11.7%4.6%$8.2M

Total Service Charges - Section A

+16.6%3.8%$6.8M

SPLOST Distributions from Local

-1.7%3.5%$6.2M

Registration Fees

+18.4%3.4%$6.0M

Total Section 1C - Selective Sales Taxes

+3.7%3.3%$5.9M

Total Service Charges - Section B

-18.9%2.4%$4.2M

Enterprise - Water Sales

+5.5%1.4%$2.4M

Insurance Premiums Tax

+7.7%1.2%$2.1M

Other Intergov from Local

+94.4%1.1%$2.0M

Franchise Taxes - Electric

+3.6%0.7%$1.3M

Culture & Recreation Fees

+2.1%0.7%$1.3M

Investment Income

+3.2%0.6%$1.1M

Enterprise - Telecom

+0.4%0.5%$941K

Business and Occupation Taxes

+2.9%0.5%$879K

Personal Property Tax - TAVT Local Share

+1.3%0.5%$819K

Total Section 1D - Licenses and Permits

-2.7%0.4%$778K

Total Intergov from State

-65.3%0.3%$564K

LMIG Grants from State

+1%0.3%$553K

Regulatory Building Permits / Inspections

-3%0.3%$546K

Hotel/Motel Excise Tax

+1.9%0.3%$493K

Ambulance Fees

+10.5%0.3%$468K

Other Financing Sources - Misc

-71.1%0.2%$432K

Total Intergov from Federal

-90.4%0.2%$431K

Court Fines

-39.1%0.2%$429K

Other Intergov from Federal

-90.7%0.2%$413K

Alcoholic Beverage Excise - Beer & Wine

-6%0.2%$353K

Bond Forfeitures

+1316.3%0.2%$335K

Franchise Taxes - Natural Gas

+8.6%0.1%$203K

Street & Sidewalk Charges

+2.6%0.1%$194K

Alcoholic Beverage License Fees

-4.1%0.1%$182K

Franchise Taxes - Cable Television

-17.2%0.1%$171K

Real Property Taxes - Current Year (Public Utilities)

-22.9%0.1%$169K

Other General Fund Svc Charges

+35.3%0.1%$167K

Contributions from Private Sources

-3.2%0.1%$163K

Alcoholic Beverage Excise 3% Mixed Drinks B

+1.8%0.1%$163K

Enterprise - Public Market

+86.2%0.1%$150K

Proceeds from Bonds

+979.7%0.1%$133K

Personal Property Tax - Boats/Aircraft

+2.7%0.1%$114K

Other Fines

-54%0.1%$101K

EMS Fees

-3.3%0%$87K

Recording Fees

-7.4%0%$74K

Intangible - Real Estate Transfer Tax

+39.2%0%$66K

Alcoholic Beverage Excise - Distilled Spirits

+2.3%0%$62K

Sale of General Fixed Assets

-23.8%0%$60K

Financial Institutions Taxes

-1.6%0%$56K

Real Property Taxes - Prior Year

-27.1%0%$38K

General Business Licenses

-7.4%0%$31K

Personal Property Tax - Title Ad Valorem (TAVT)

-17.3%0%$29K

Penalties & Interest on Delinquent Taxes

+79.9%0%$27K

Law Enforcement Fees

+18.4%0%$25K

PILOT from Local

+16%0%$19K

Insurance Recovery

-73.4%0%$19K

Forfeitures

0%$18K

Crime & Corrections Grants from Federal

+2%0%$18K

Regulatory Fees - Other

+16.8%0%$14K

Other Intergov from State

0%$11K

Personal Property Tax - TAVT State Share

+2.7%0%$8K

Franchise Taxes - Other

-10.3%0%$7K

Franchise Taxes - Telephone

-25.2%0%$5K

Non-Business Licenses and Permits

0%$4K

Fire Protection Fees

-33.1%0%$4K

Personal Property Tax - Mobile Home

-2.7%0%$2K

Penalties and Interest on Delinquent Licenses

-27.7%0%$467

Other Taxes

-9.2%0%$287

Enterprise - Stormwater

-76.4%0%$167

Personal Property Tax - Other

-86.8%0%$133

Expenditure Categories — vs prior yeari

Total Departmental Aggregated - Current Ops

+65%24.5%$30.0M

Total Part V - Current Operations

+8.2%20.3%$24.9M

Debt Service - 10yr GO Principal

-5.4%12.8%$15.7M

Police Protection

-0.1%6.4%$7.8M

Total Part V - Property Capital

-7.1%6%$7.3M

Roads, Streets, and Bridges

+96.7%5.6%$6.8M

Recreation

-10.9%4.1%$5.0M

Administration - Human Resources

+7.6%3.7%$4.6M

Culture & Recreation - Current Ops

+14%3.3%$4.1M

Debt Service - 40yr GO Principal

+5.1%2%$2.4M

Total Part V - Machinery Capital

-28.7%1.2%$1.5M

Housing & Development - Current Ops

+15.9%1.2%$1.5M

Administration - Data Processing/MIS

+14.3%1%$1.2M

Debt Service - Other Principal

+131.9%1%$1.2M

Administration - Gen. Govmt Buildings & Plant

-72.2%0.9%$1.1M

Admin Support - Executive

+15.3%0.9%$1.1M

Administration - Customer Service

+3%0.8%$939K

Administration - Financial

+4.6%0.6%$704K

Economic Development and Resources

+28.1%0.6%$680K

Municipal Court

-1.6%0.4%$544K

Planning and Zoning

+22.1%0.4%$508K

Parks

+50%0.4%$439K

Admin Support - Legislative

+47.3%0.4%$435K

Public Works Administration

+25.9%0.3%$427K

Administration - Risk Management

+10.1%0.3%$426K

Protective Inspection

-15.4%0.3%$327K

Prisoner Custody

+23.6%0.2%$273K

Total Non-Departmental - Current Ops

+10.5%0.2%$224K

Maintenance Shop

+4.9%0.1%$176K

Administration - Law

-20.1%0.1%$156K

Storm Drainage

-80%0.1%$68K

Cemetery

+95.4%0%$50K

Administration - Internal Audit

+24.8%0%$48K

Debt Service - 40yr GO Interest

-71.5%0%$560

Admin Support - Elections

-99.9%0%$45