Public Investments and Population Changes in Three Rural Washington State Towns

Changes in the size and socioeconomic composition of the population in rural communities have confronted local units of government with the need to make decisions pertaining to investments in public services. This report analyzes public capital expenditures in three rural towns that gained or lost population or maintained a stable population between 1930 and 1965. Results show that towns that are gaining or losing population use different options for funding capital expenditures. The growing town extensively used special property assessments and bonded indebtedness to secure investment capital. The town that lost population during 1930-65 relied primarily on transfers of funds from State and Federal Governments for investment capital. The stable town also used transfers extensively, but its largest source of investment capital came from current revenue, accruals, investment earnings, short-term indebtedness, and other miscellaneous sources. Although expenditure levels varied, the distribution of investment by type of function was similar in each community. Per capita expenditures for water, streets, and sewers were closely associated with population growth rates in the growing town.