Washington received $4,526,986 in property taxes during the 2016-2017 fiscal year, which translates into $473 on a per-capita basis, according to city financial data on file with the N.C. Department of State Treasurer.

That data covers the past five fiscal years.

Of course, not each city resident pays property taxes, and some people who don’t live in the city but own property there pay property taxes. Still, the breakdown of property-tax revenues on a per-capita basis provides an idea of how much a city resident would pay in property taxes if each resident paid the same amount. The city has just fewer than 10,000 residents.

In fiscal year 2013, the city took in $4,301,643 in property taxes, or $443 on a per-capita basis. In fiscal year 2014, the city realized $$4,598,571 in property taxes ($475 per resident), followed by $4,441,760 in fiscal year 2015 ($461 per resident) and  $4.340,445 in fiscal year 2016 ($450 per capita).

Property taxes are not the largest revenue source for the city. The city, which provides utilities— electricity, water and sewer — to city residents and non-city residents took in $41.9 million for those services in fiscal year 2017. On a per-capita basis, that comes to $4,384 from each city resident. In fiscal year 2013, the city realized $41.7 million in utilities revenues, which translates into $4,305 on a per-capita basis.

In fiscal year 2014, the city received $$43,312,641 from utilities services ($4,471 per capita), followed by $43,468,762 in fiscal year 2015 ($4,508 per capita) and $41,089,555 in fiscal year 2016 ($4,263 per capita).

During a five-year period, fiscal years 2013 through 2017, Washington saw its revenues from major revenue sources basically remain unchanged, according to fiscal data on file with the North Carolina Department of the State Treasurer.

That data shows those major revenue sources — property taxes, utilities, sales taxes, sales and services, intergovernmental, debt proceeds and miscellaneous — generated about $58 million each fiscal year from 2013 to 2016. In fiscal year 2017, that revenue fell to $56.4 million.

Matt Rauschenbach attributes the drop to $56.4 million to several factors, including economic changes and the city’s fiscal policies regarding debt. “There aren’t any debt proceeds. We haven’t borrowed money in quite a few years. That’s probably one of the major things. We gone with a pay-as-you-go-type basis,” he said.

The financial reports show the city spent $60,875,585 in fiscal year 2013 on major expenditures — utilities, public safety, general government, debt service, transportation and others. That figure fell to $55,095,004 in FY 2014, dropped to $54,159,572 in FY 15, declined to $49,336,069 in FY 2016 and came in at $48,452,869, according to reports.

Rauschenbach weighed in on the deceased in expenditures. “Debt service would certainly be a piece of that,” he said, again noting the city is borrowing less money, therefore its debt-service expenses have decreased.