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

Atlanta, GA

Atlanta, GA Municipal Budget — Revenue & Spending Breakdown

Atlanta 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

$10.0B

+4.1%YoY

Total Expenditurei

$27.6B

+6.5%YoY

Property Tax Revenuei

$5.6M

0.1%of revenue

Revenue vs Expenditurei

$10.0B

$27.6B

Revenue

Expenditure

$17.5B deficit

Revenue Sources — vs prior yeari

Total Other Sources

+4%17.9%$1.8B

Total Part I - Tax Revenues

+3.6%15.6%$1.6B

Total Enterprise Revenue

+5.9%13.1%$1.3B

Enterprise - Cemetery

+8.3%7.4%$739.0M

Total Section 1A - General Property Taxes

+5.4%7.1%$711.3M

Enterprise - Electric

+1.7%4.8%$482.0M

Personal Property Taxes - Current Year

+5.7%4.6%$459.4M

Total Section 1B - General Sales and Use Taxes

+2.8%4.5%$456.2M

Total Section 1C - Selective Sales Taxes

+2.7%2.6%$265.1M

Real Property Taxes - Current Year

+8.3%2.4%$243.6M

Total Part III

+7.3%2.3%$228.1M

Municipal Option Sales Tax (MOST)

+3.4%2.2%$216.3M

Total Service Charges - Section B

+14.1%1.7%$173.1M

Local Option Sales Tax (LOST)

+2.2%1.6%$155.7M

Total Section 1D - Licenses and Permits

-1.3%1.3%$133.9M

Hotel/Motel Excise Tax

+2.5%1.1%$106.1M

Total Intergov from Federal

-11.4%1%$97.2M

Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax - Municipal

+2.6%0.8%$84.3M

Other Intergov from Federal

-9.8%0.8%$84.3M

General Business Licenses

+3.5%0.8%$83.7M

Investment Income

-1.1%0.8%$81.5M

Franchise Taxes - Electric

+9.4%0.7%$66.5M

Enterprise - Water Sales

+12.7%0.6%$58.1M

Total Service Charges - Section A

-9.7%0.5%$55.0M

Other Financing Sources - Misc

+111.8%0.5%$54.7M

Insurance Premiums Tax

+7.6%0.5%$47.6M

Regulatory Building Permits / Inspections

-7.3%0.4%$35.7M

Enterprise - Gas

+28.1%0.3%$32.6M

Health Charges

+40.5%0.3%$25.3M

Excise Tax on Rental Motor Vehicles

-0.3%0.2%$22.8M

Other Intergov from State

-12%0.2%$15.6M

Total Intergov from State

-19.1%0.2%$15.6M

Alcoholic Beverage Excise 3% Mixed Drinks B

-9.4%0.1%$14.6M

Court Fines

-4.2%0.1%$14.0M

Law Enforcement Fees

+2.2%0.1%$13.5M

CDBG from Federal

-20.9%0.1%$12.9M

Registration Fees

-52.9%0.1%$12.6M

Sale of General Fixed Assets

-23.1%0.1%$12.4M

Alcoholic Beverage License Fees

-4.8%0.1%$10.4M

Parking Fines

+4%0.1%$8.1M

Alcoholic Beverage Excise - Beer & Wine

-31.4%0.1%$7.1M

Personal Property Tax - Boats/Aircraft

+13.4%0.1%$5.6M

Enterprise - Public Market

-9.5%0%$2.8M

Contributions from Private Sources

-49.7%0%$2.5M

Enterprise - Telecom

-69.1%0%$2.5M

Penalties and Interest on Delinquent Licenses

-27.8%0%$2.2M

Corrections Fees

+54.2%0%$1.9M

EMS Fees

-2.3%0%$1.8M

Non-Business Licenses and Permits

-19.3%0%$1.7M

Penalties & Interest on Delinquent Taxes

-21.4%0%$1.7M

Personal Property Taxes - Prior Year

-87.6%0%$1.1M

Other Taxes

+20.9%0%$231K

Expenditure Categories — vs prior yeari

Total Departmental Aggregated - Current Ops

+3.6%69.7%$19.2B

Total Non-Departmental - Current Ops

+21.4%10.5%$2.9B

Total Part V - Current Operations

+9.6%6.2%$1.7B

Debt Service - 50yr GO Principal

+13.7%3%$821.5M

Administration - Gen. Govmt Buildings & Plant

+49.6%2%$557.5M

Debt Service - 5yr General Obligation Principal

+14.3%1.8%$496.9M

Police Protection

+0.9%1.1%$310.5M

Debt Service - 50yr GO Interest

+38.3%0.6%$169.2M

Roads, Streets, and Bridges

+36.3%0.6%$166.6M

Fire Protection

+5.2%0.5%$124.8M

Admin Support - Executive

+5.7%0.4%$117.4M

Culture & Recreation - Current Ops

-11.5%0.4%$108.2M

Debt Service - 5yr General Obligation Interest

-13.1%0.4%$104.4M

Total Part V - Property Capital

+83.5%0.3%$78.0M

Parks

+20.3%0.3%$76.2M

Administration - Financial

-18.9%0.2%$68.2M

Debt Service - 40yr GO Principal

0.2%$63.4M

Housing & Development - Current Ops

+14.5%0.2%$54.5M

Administration - Data Processing/MIS

+19.1%0.2%$50.4M

Administration - Human Resources

-24.8%0.2%$43.9M

Recreation

-38%0.1%$39.8M

Health & Welfare - Current Ops

-53.9%0.1%$39.3M

Total Part V - Machinery Capital

-10.5%0.1%$36.9M

Welfare

-50.1%0.1%$29.7M

Municipal Court

+8.4%0.1%$28.0M

Corrections

+23.7%0.1%$22.5M

E-911 Operations

-18.5%0.1%$21.1M

Protective Inspection

+3.3%0.1%$18.9M

Administration - Law

+8.9%0.1%$16.2M

Urban Redevelopment and Housing

+118.4%0.1%$15.7M

Admin Support - Legislative

+3.8%0.1%$15.1M

Public Works Administration

+2.5%0%$13.2M

Administration - Customer Service

+29.8%0%$11.7M

Planning and Zoning

+25.2%0%$10.1M

Community Services

-62.8%0%$9.6M

Economic Development and Resources

-15.3%0%$8.9M

Solid Waste Collection

+0.9%0%$6.7M

Public Defender Administration

+18.1%0%$6.2M

Administration - Public Information

+27.8%0%$5.4M

Other Protections

+15.3%0%$4.5M

EMS / Ambulance Service

+58.1%0%$3.6M

Administration - Internal Audit

+6.6%0%$2.0M

Administration - Risk Management

-2.6%0%$1.9M

Admin Support - Elections

-63.4%0%$1.7M

Cable Television

+48%0%$1.4M

Debt Service - Other Principal

-98.4%0%$1.0M

Public Safety Administration

+67.8%0%$918K

Economic Opportunity and Programs

-84.2%0%$555K

Debt Service - Other Interest

-49.6%0%$473K

Solid Waste and Recycling Administration

+31.2%0%$450K

Cemetery

+8.5%0%$409K

Conservation (incl. County Extension)

0%$361K

Water

+4360%0%$223K

Debt Service - 40yr GO Interest

0%$125K

Maintenance Shop

+162.5%0%$21K