ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the reader to the components and dynamics of municipal and school district revenues. It covers the types of revenue resources, the ways in which they vary geographically, and their emphasis and deemphasis over time. Familiarity with revenue types, emphases and calculations is a critical prerequisite for fiscal impact analysis. For the sake of simplicity, school districts are considered educational bodies; municipalities are considered noneducational bodies. Municipalities rely more on own source revenue rather than intergovernmental transfers. In 1972 intergovernmental transfers accounted for nearly 30 percent of revenues for municipalities, and more than 44 percent of revenues for school districts. Shared revenues enter the general fund of municipalities and school districts with minimal earmarking and are essentially general purpose funds. The New England and the East North Central regions dominate in terms of property tax support of both municipal and school district functions.
