How Your Tax Dollars are Spent

It is that time of year again when homeowners are paying their property taxes and may wonder, "Where does this money go?" Below is a theoretical monthly "bill" for the general fund services provided by the City. Since we are all familiar with paying monthly bills for our mortgage, utilities, car and mobile phone, among others, this analysis has been useful in demonstrating that the City provides an excellent value. 
The calculation includes houses appraised at $100,000, $181,941 (the average appraisal in Murfreesboro), $200,000 and $300,000.
As you can see by this chart, the average house in Murfreesboro "pays" $48.15 a month for 24/7 police and fire, streets, schools, debt service for roads, schools, parks and equipment and the other general fund activities. In comparison, the general fund "bill" is less than many bills for cable TV, Internet service and telephone. One of the most remarkable figures is that the average household pays only $1.93 per month for solid waste collection and disposal.

The City continues to strive to provide outstanding services to its citizens for a very reasonable cost.

What do you get for the monthly charges outlined above?

• A full-service police department offering patrol, criminal investigation, community policing, traffic operations, canine, DARE and a number of community crime prevention programs; 
• A fire department with the best rating in the state, which can result in lower homeowner’s insurance premiums.  A full-time, professional staff provides fire suppression, first responder, vehicle extrication and fire prevention services.  
• Parks and recreation facilities programs, including SportsCom, StarPlex, Barfield Crescent Park, Old Fort Park, Patterson Park, Greenway and Siegel Soccer Park; 
• A nationally-recognized K-6 city school system that has a tradition of excellence; 
• Weekly garbage removal. The Solid Waste department also provides for brush, limb and grass clipping removal; 
• Street maintenance, including mowing of rights-of-way, snow removal, street paving, leaf collection and street lighting; 
• Traffic signals, along with closed-circuit camera system providing the public with live-time traffic and road conditions;
• ROVER, our Public Transit system; 
• Building and Codes inspection services, including enforcement of ordinances such as weed and grass, sign and abandoned vehicles; 
• Support for various organizations, including chamber of commerce and those related to social services, senior center, tourism and economic development; 
• Payment on the bonds used to construct roads, schools, police cars, fire trucks, garbage trucks, recreational facilities and drainage improvements.
• Funding for Administration, Finance, Personnel, Legal, Planning, Engineering, Cable/Communications and Urban Environmental Departments.