How Peoria is run
Who runs Peoria, 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 Peoria's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Peoria
A city manager hired by the council runs the city day to day. The mayor, elected citywide, and six council members, elected by district, pass ordinances and adopt the budget.
What they are paid
- City puts 7% of salary into a retirement savings plan
- $600 a month car allowance
- Life insurance of 2.5 times salary
- Severance: monthly salary times the months left of the first 36, plus 12 months of health coverage
- 240 hours of vacation a year
Peoria city staff
1,500 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 379, Fire-Medical 285, Public Works 174. FY2026-27. City of Peoria · May 19, 2026
Arizona has no statewide city pay database. The budget lists positions and total personnel pay by fund, not pay by person. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Peoria 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
Unassigned general fund balance: $176M (2025-06-30). City of Peoria · 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: retail$44.3M · 16%
- State shared income tax (urban revenue sharing)$42.8M · 15%
- State shared sales tax$31.2M · 11%
- Transfers in from other funds$24M · 8%
- Drawn from fund balance (budgeted spending above revenue)$21.1M · 7%
- City sales tax: restaurants and bars$14.4M · 5%
- State shared vehicle license tax$11M · 4%
- City sales tax: construction contracting$9M · 3%
- Other (other sales tax categories, property tax, franchise fees, charges, fines, interest)$86.7M · 30%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$86.2M · 30%
- Fire-Medical$63.5M · 22%
- Non-departmental (includes $21.7M contingency)$27.4M · 10%
- Parks and Recreation$22.6M · 8%
- Neighborhood and Human Services$15.1M · 5%
- Development and Engineering$13.6M · 5%
- Arts, Culture and Library Services$9.3M · 3%
- Other departments (city manager, finance, attorney, HR, court, council and others)$46.9M · 16%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Schools take the largest share of the property tax bill. The city's part is about 15%. Parts of Peoria are in Deer Valley Unified School District, which has different school rates.
15¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Peoria
- Peoria Unified School District5.05 · 53%
- Maricopa County (incl. community college, flood control, special health care and other districts)3.06 · 32%
- City of Peoria (primary and secondary)Primary $0.29 plus secondary $1.15 for voter-approved bonds1.44 · 15%
- Total (per $100 of assessed value)9.55
FY2024-25 rates for a property in Peoria Unified School District (Maricopa County). City of Peoria · Dec 22, 2025
See what a Peoria house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Peoria is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityPeoria Police DepartmentCity of Peoria · Dec 22, 2025
- FireThe cityPeoria Fire-Medical DepartmentCity of Peoria · Dec 22, 2025
- EMSThe cityPeoria Fire-Medical DepartmentCity of Peoria · Dec 22, 2025
- WaterThe cityCity of Peoria (water utility)City of Peoria · Dec 22, 2025
- SewerThe cityCity of Peoria (wastewater utility)City of Peoria · Dec 22, 2025
- StreetsThe cityCity of PeoriaCity of Peoria · Dec 22, 2025
- LibraryThe cityCity of Peoria (two libraries)City of Peoria · Dec 22, 2025
- SchoolsSeparate districtPeoria Unified School District (most of the city); Deer Valley Unified School District (other areas)City of Peoria · Dec 22, 2025
- Spring training stadiumThe cityPeoria Sports Complex (city-operated)Spring training home of the Seattle Mariners and San Diego PadresCity of Peoria · 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 | MaricopaAZ | PeoriaAZ | ScottsdaleAZ | MesaAZ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 78,362 | 200,881 | 243,006 | 513,656 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $242,000 | $325,000 | $400,000 | $345,000 |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not current (2023) |
| General fund per resident | $1,506 | $1,417 | $2,395 | $1,439 |
| Debt per resident | $939 | $1,859 | $3,476 | $4,269 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $357 | $686 | $1,382 | $2,018 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 5.9 | 7.5 | 11.5 | 9.4 |
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 Peoria 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 final budget, $1.185 billion, is attached to the May 19, 2026 council agenda where it was adopted. City of Peoria · May 19, 2026
- Yes: City manager's contract findable online City of Peoria · Jan 27, 2026
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineCouncil minutes list the ayes, nays and absences by name for each vote. City of Peoria · Jun 3, 2025
- Partly: Council pay stated in a public document City of Peoria · Nov 19, 2024
- Partly: Employee pay publishedThe budget lists positions by title and $252 million in total personnel pay by fund, but not pay by person. City of Peoria · May 19, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $176.0 million on June 30, 2025, and the general fund balance rose $12.5 million that year. How much of the unassigned balance is above the city's own reserve targets, and what is it for?
- The city had $373.4 million in bonds and loans on June 30, 2025, most of it general obligation debt. What projects will the next bond sales pay for, and how will they affect the property tax rate?
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