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

Dalton, GA

CSAChattanooga-Cleveland-Dalton

Dalton, GA Municipal Budget — Revenue & Spending Breakdown

Dalton 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 2024

IL Comptroller

Total Revenuei

$780.4M

-14.7%YoY

Total Expenditurei

$2.2B

-1.4%YoY

Property Tax Revenuei

$43K

0%of revenue

Revenue vs Expenditurei

$780.4M

$2.2B

Revenue

Expenditure

$1.5B deficit

Revenue Sources — vs prior yeari

Total Enterprise Revenue

-18.8%39.6%$309.3M

Enterprise - Transit

-24.5%25.5%$199.0M

Total Other Sources

+2.9%4.2%$33.1M

Enterprise - Electric

+28%4.1%$32.4M

Total Part I - Tax Revenues

+0.5%3.5%$27.0M

Enterprise - Gas

+17.2%3.2%$25.0M

Enterprise - Airport

-47.1%3.1%$24.4M

Enterprise - Stadium

-0.4%2.8%$22.2M

Total Section 1A - General Property Taxes

-3.7%1.3%$9.8M

Local Option Sales Tax (LOST)

+0.3%1.2%$9.1M

Total Section 1B - General Sales and Use Taxes

+0.3%1.2%$9.1M

Total Section 1C - Selective Sales Taxes

+6.7%1%$7.7M

Total Intergov from Federal

+186.1%0.9%$7.2M

Other Intergov from Federal

+200.7%0.9%$6.8M

Total Part III

+15%0.8%$6.1M

Total Intergov from Local

-39.4%0.7%$5.7M

SPLOST Distributions from Local

-40.6%0.7%$5.4M

Total Service Charges - Section B

+40.1%0.7%$5.1M

Real Property Taxes - Current Year

-0.5%0.6%$4.7M

Enterprise - Public Market

+145.7%0.5%$4.0M

Insurance Premiums Tax

+7.6%0.4%$3.3M

Personal Property Taxes - Current Year

-6.5%0.4%$3.1M

Investment Income

+16.3%0.3%$2.4M

Hotel/Motel Excise Tax

+4%0.3%$2.1M

Total Intergov from State

+202.7%0.2%$1.9M

Enterprise - Golf Course

0.2%$1.6M

Personal Property Tax - TAVT Local Share

+8.3%0.2%$1.4M

LMIG Grants from State

+140.8%0.1%$978K

Total Service Charges - Section A

-41.3%0.1%$957K

Other Intergov from State

+1421.1%0.1%$927K

Other General Fund Svc Charges

+801.7%0.1%$781K

Court Costs, Fees, Charges

-4.9%0.1%$733K

Enterprise - Cemetery

-7%0.1%$728K

Business and Occupation Taxes

+28.6%0.1%$722K

Alcoholic Beverage Excise - Beer & Wine

-1.4%0.1%$650K

Total Section 1D - Licenses and Permits

+1.1%0.1%$433K

CDBG from Federal

+58.5%0.1%$411K

Alcoholic Beverage License Fees

+3%0%$370K

Court Fines

+75.6%0%$367K

Sale of General Fixed Assets

-1.8%0%$330K

Culture & Recreation Fees

+1.5%0%$303K

Other Fines

-4.3%0%$255K

Franchise Taxes - Cable Television

-8.6%0%$233K

Real Property Taxes - Prior Year

-13.6%0%$231K

PILOT from Local

+26.7%0%$209K

Health Charges

-6.5%0%$200K

Parking Fines

+415.8%0%$192K

Franchise Taxes - Electric

+10.2%0%$191K

Contributions from Private Sources

+174.5%0%$187K

Proceeds from Bonds

+181%0%$185K

Personal Property Taxes - Prior Year

-59.7%0%$154K

Insurance Recovery

-32.3%0%$141K

Alcoholic Beverage Excise 3% Mixed Drinks B

+4.6%0%$137K

Financial Institutions Taxes

+21.6%0%$133K

Alcoholic Beverage Excise - Distilled Spirits

-9.3%0%$96K

Penalties & Interest on Delinquent Taxes

-8.2%0%$86K

Franchise Taxes - Telephone

-9.7%0%$80K

General Business Licenses

+14%0%$60K

Personal Property Tax - Boats/Aircraft

+6.4%0%$43K

Personal Property Tax - Title Ad Valorem (TAVT)

-23.1%0%$40K

Real Property Taxes - Current Year (Public Utilities)

0%$38K

Recording Fees

0%$24K

Bond Forfeitures

-74.9%0%$23K

Intangible - Real Estate Transfer Tax

+41.9%0%$22K

Crime & Corrections Grants from Federal

+175.5%0%$14K

Personal Property Tax - TAVT State Share

-19%0%$11K

Personal Property Tax - Railroad Equipment

0%$4K

Penalties and Interest on Delinquent Licenses

-68.5%0%$3K

Crime & Corrections Grants from State

-50.3%0%$2K

Personal Property Tax - Mobile Home

-21.2%0%$588

Forfeitures

0%$406

Expenditure Categories — vs prior yeari

Total Departmental Aggregated - Current Ops

+13.9%74.3%$1.7B

Total Non-Departmental - Current Ops

-46%8.1%$180.8M

Debt Service - 10yr GO Principal

-37.3%6.2%$139.4M

Debt Service - 5yr General Obligation Principal

-23.8%2.5%$56.4M

Total Part V - Current Operations

+8.5%1.9%$43.4M

Total Part V - Property Capital

+205.2%1.2%$26.0M

Debt Service - 15yr GO Principal

-47.6%1%$22.5M

Debt Service - Other Principal

+3.9%0.9%$19.5M

Fire Protection

+11.9%0.5%$12.1M

Roads, Streets, and Bridges

+132.5%0.5%$11.0M

Police Protection

-13.3%0.4%$9.1M

Storm Drainage

+168.3%0.4%$8.5M

Parks

+0.3%0.3%$7.7M

Admin Support - Executive

+458.6%0.3%$6.2M

Culture & Recreation - Current Ops

+13.8%0.2%$5.3M

Public Safety Administration

0.2%$4.3M

Recreation

+56.7%0.1%$2.9M

Debt Service - 10yr GO Interest

-9.9%0.1%$2.8M

Total Part V - Machinery Capital

-22.7%0.1%$2.7M

Solid Waste Collection

+4.3%0.1%$2.3M

Debt Service - 5yr General Obligation Interest

-18.6%0.1%$1.8M

Maintenance Shop

+4.8%0.1%$1.6M

Debt Service - 50yr GO Principal

-7.3%0.1%$1.2M

Administration - Financial

+5.4%0%$1.0M

Public Works Administration

+3.2%0%$922K

Housing & Development - Current Ops

-35.9%0%$851K

Administration - Data Processing/MIS

+4.8%0%$731K

Municipal Court

0%$653K

Economic Development and Resources

-48.9%0%$581K

Administration - Human Resources

+29.6%0%$572K

Community Services

+165.6%0%$470K

Administration - Gen. Govmt Buildings & Plant

-86%0%$403K

Protective Inspection

+50.1%0%$270K

Libraries

-0.2%0%$269K

Health & Welfare - Current Ops

+41.2%0%$269K

Admin Support - Legislative

+36.8%0%$183K

Administration - Law

0%$173K

Prisoner Custody

+11.5%0%$108K

Debt Service - 15yr GO Interest

-18.8%0%$56K

Health

+92%0%$26K

Debt Service - Other Interest

0%$23