How Maricopa is run
Who runs Maricopa, 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 Maricopa's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Maricopa
A city manager hired by the council runs the city day to day. The council sets policy, adopts the budget and sets the tax rate.
What they are paid
- $400 a month car allowance and $100 a month for his phone
- 192 hours of vacation and 40 hours of executive leave a year
- Severance of six to nine months' salary, depending on years served
- Arizona State Retirement System and the city's 457 savings plan
- City pays health insurance for him and his dependents in full
Maricopa city staff
459 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 110, Fire 77, Recreation and Copper Sky Recreation Center 44. 2025-06-30. City of Maricopa · Dec 22, 2025
Arizona has no statewide city pay database. The audited report counts staff by department, not pay by person. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Maricopa 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.
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $11.5M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep an operating reserve equal to 30% of budgeted general fund spending, plus $1 million for disasters and $1 million for self-insured losses. These are set aside as assigned fund balance, not counted in the unassigned balance. City of Maricopa · Dec 22, 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$39.9M · 34%
- Intergovernmental (state shared revenue)$32.3M · 27%
- Primary property tax$18.3M · 16%
- Other (licenses, fees, permits and more)$14.3M · 12%
- Drawn from fund balance (budgeted uses above revenue)$13.1M · 11%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Transfer to general government capital projects$25M · 21%
- Police$19.8M · 17%
- Fire$18.7M · 16%
- Public Works$8.5M · 7%
- Parks and Recreation$6.4M · 5%
- Information Technology$5M · 4%
- Development Services$4.4M · 4%
- Other (other departments, asset replacement and bond payment transfers)$30.2M · 26%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Schools take the largest share of the property tax bill. The city's part is about a quarter. Some areas also pay flood control, electric or water improvement district rates.
25¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Maricopa
- Maricopa Unified School District7.4313 · 42%
- City of Maricopa4.3337 · 25%
- Pinal County3.56 · 20%
- Central Arizona College (Pinal County Jr. College)1.8705 · 11%
- Other county districts (library, fire district assistance, Central Arizona Water Conservation District, CAVIT)0.3419 · 2%
- Total (per $100 of assessed value)17.5374
FY2024-25 rates for a property in Maricopa Unified School District (Pinal County). City of Maricopa · Dec 22, 2025
See what a Maricopa house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Maricopa is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityMaricopa Police DepartmentCity of Maricopa · Dec 22, 2025
- StreetsThe cityCity of Maricopa631 miles of streetsCity of Maricopa · Dec 22, 2025
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Maricopa (including Copper Sky Recreation Center)134 acres of parksCity of Maricopa · Dec 22, 2025
- LibraryThe cityCity of MaricopaCity of Maricopa · Dec 22, 2025
- Municipal courtThe cityCity of Maricopa (city magistrate)City of Maricopa · Dec 22, 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 Maricopa publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe FY2027 budget summary schedules, $335.3 million in all, are attached to the council item adopting the budget on June 16, 2026. City of Maricopa · Jun 16, 2026
- Yes: City manager's contract findable online City of Maricopa · Dec 12, 2023
- No: Council pay stated in a public documentThe adopted budget shows only a $501,752 total for the Mayor and City Council office. The city website refused our downloads. City of Maricopa · Jun 16, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $11.5 million on June 30, 2025, and the city keeps a separate 30% operating reserve as assigned fund balance. How much of the general fund balance is free for one-time uses?
- The FY2027 budget moves $25.0 million from the general fund to capital projects and draws about $13.1 million from fund balance. Which projects does that pay for, and can the transfers continue?
- The city had $73.6 million in bonds, loans and financed purchases on June 30, 2025, most of it excise tax revenue bonds. What will new borrowing pay for?
- General fund revenue was $102.1 million in FY2025, and the city's sales tax brings in the most. How does the ten-year plan account for slower home building?
The fiscal year starts July 1. The council adopted the tentative FY2027 budget May 19, 2026, and held the public hearing and adopted the final budget and property tax levy June 16, 2026. See who is running for council
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