Revenues

Date of Publication: July 2014

 Synopsis:  Citizens are closest to their local government yet not many know how much their municipality is either spending or collecting in revenues.  In Pennsylvania municipal governments collect property and earned income taxes which provide them with the bulk of their funds.  They also collect a local services tax and can impose business taxes.  They also have non-tax revenues derived from fees, fines, permits, intergovernmental transfers, etc.  To address this issue, we have put together three reports on the topic over the years covering municipal financial data for municipalities in Allegheny County for 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Data Snapshot:  Weighted average per capita municipal general fund revenues[1]

Forecast:  The trend clearly shows an increase for each of the three years listed.  From 2008 to 2009 the increase was just over one percent, whereas from 2009 to 2010 the increase over three percent and then increasing by nearly five percent from 2010 to 2011, a direct result of the end of the severe recession of 2009-2010. This is an ongoing project that will continually be updated as the data becomes available.  For an expanded table with all municipalities and list of categories, please click here.


[1] Averages are for all municipalities in Allegheny County with the exception of the City of Pittsburgh, McDonald, and Trafford. The averages are weighted by taking the total amount in each category and dividing by the total population in the sample.  In 2008 there were 119 municipalities reporting data, 123 in 2009, all 127 in 2010, and and 126 in 2011 as Munhall did not submit a report to DCED.