How Lake Havasu City is run
Who runs Lake Havasu City, what it costs, and where your money goes
The city manager, council pay, the budget, your property tax bill and who provides each service, from Lake Havasu City's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Lake Havasu City
A city manager hired by the council runs the city day to day. The mayor and six council members, all elected citywide, set policy and adopt the budget, and appoint the city manager, city attorney and city magistrate.
What they are paid
- Contract runs until terminated, with no fixed end date
- Eligible for a yearly step increase when other city employees get one, while his pay is below market
Lake Havasu City city staff
510 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 125, Fire 86. FY2025. Lake Havasu City · Dec 29, 2025
Authorized full-time positions. Arizona has no statewide city pay database, and we found no city-published pay list by position. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Lake Havasu City in the red?
Cities must pass a balanced budget, so "profit" and "deficit" mean something different here. The useful questions: does the city's everyday money (the general fund) cover its everyday costs, how much does it keep in savings compared with its own target, and how big are its pension and debt bills.
The city's own outlook
The city's five-year forecast keeps a budget stabilization reserve of $41.5M to $44.0M, but shows the other general fund money falling from $41.0M at the end of FY2025-26 to $1.6M by FY2030-31. The FY2026-27 budget plans $107.0M of spending against $93.7M of revenue. Lake Havasu City · Jun 9, 2026
Savings
Unassigned general fund balance: $92.6M (2025-06-30). Lake Havasu City · Dec 29, 2025
Why we skip the "budgeted deficit": many cities plan to dip into savings, then spend less than planned. The audited result tells you what really happened.
Where the money comes from and goes
The general fund only: the city's everyday money for FY2026-27.
Comes from
- City sales tax$38.3M · 36%
- Drawn from fund balance (planned)$13.3M · 12%
- State shared income tax (urban revenue share)$12.4M · 12%
- State shared sales tax$8.9M · 8%
- City property tax$7.6M · 7%
- Grants, intergovernmental agreements and reimbursements$6.5M · 6%
- State shared vehicle license tax (auto lieu)$5.6M · 5%
- Charges for services$5.1M · 5%
- Other (permits, fines, interest, miscellaneous)$9.3M · 9%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Fire and EMS$30.1M · 28%
- Police$28.8M · 27%
- Parks and recreation$11.4M · 11%
- Administrative services$11.2M · 10%
- Public works$7.3M · 7%
- Non-departmental$6M · 6%
- Municipal court$3.5M · 3%
- Other (development services, attorney, HR, manager, clerk, council, contingency)$8.6M · 8%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
The city's own rate is about 9 cents of each property tax dollar. Arizona's state aid reduces the school portion of the bill for owner-occupied homes.
9¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Lake Havasu City
- Lake Havasu Unified School DistrictOperating 2.8735 plus bond debt 0.32383.1973 · 42%
- Mohave County1.8147 · 24%
- Mohave Community College1.076 · 14%
- County flood control, library, fire assistance and TV districts0.8511 · 11%
- Lake Havasu City0.6718 · 9%
- Western Arizona Vocational Education District0.05 · <1%
- Total ($ per $100 of assessed value)7.6609
Tax year 2025 (FY2025-26) rates for a home in Lake Havasu City (Mohave County, tax area 2550). Mohave County
See what a Lake Havasu City home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Lake Havasu City is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityLake Havasu City Police DepartmentLake Havasu City · Dec 29, 2025
- FireThe cityLake Havasu City Fire DepartmentLake Havasu City · Dec 29, 2025
- EMS / ambulanceThe cityLake Havasu City Fire DepartmentThe city began its own EMS transports in mid-June 2024.Lake Havasu City · Dec 29, 2025
- WaterThe cityCity of Lake Havasu City (water fund)Lake Havasu City · Dec 29, 2025
- SewerThe cityCity of Lake Havasu City (wastewater fund)Lake Havasu City · Dec 29, 2025
- TrashContractorPrivate contractor, billed by the city (refuse fund)Lake Havasu City · Dec 29, 2025
- StreetsThe cityCity of Lake Havasu CityLake Havasu City · Dec 29, 2025
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Lake Havasu City Parks and RecreationLake Havasu City · Dec 29, 2025
- AirportThe cityLake Havasu City Municipal Airport (city-run)Lake Havasu City · Dec 29, 2025
Compared with similar cities
The cities in this state closest in population that we cover. Read it for scale, not as a ranking: cities provide different services.
| Per city | Sierra VistaAZ | Lake Havasu CityAZ | FlagstaffAZ | MaricopaAZ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 44,907 | 59,358 | 77,260 | 78,362 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | Not current (2023) | Not confirmed | $242,000 |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not current (2022) | $63,800 | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,259 | $1,803 | $1,577 | $1,506 |
| Debt per resident | $635 | $2,862 | $2,800 | $939 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $1,291 | $1,661 | $616 | $357 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 9.5 | 8.6 | 13.1 | 5.9 |
Figures as shown in each city's section, divided by its population. Years differ by state, and pension figures are measured differently in each state (each city page says how).
What Lake Havasu City publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted online Lake Havasu City · Jun 23, 2026
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineCouncil minutes list each member's vote; the FY2026-27 budget passed 4 to 2 on June 23, 2026. Lake Havasu City Council
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentResolution No. 20-3447 sets mayor and council monthly salaries, adjusted each year for inflation. Lake Havasu City · Oct 13, 2020
- No: Employee pay publishedThe budget forms show spending by department only. We found no pay list by position. Arizona has no statewide city pay database. Lake Havasu City · Jun 23, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The city's five-year forecast shows general fund money outside the $41.5 million stabilization reserve falling from $41.0 million to $1.6 million by FY2030-31. What changes in spending or revenue does the council plan?
- The FY2026-27 general fund budget of $107.0 million plans to draw $13.3 million from fund balance. Which one-time items does that draw pay for?
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