How Doral is run
Who runs Doral, 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 Doral's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Doral
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
- Draft agreement: $700 a month car allowance or a city car, plus $150 a month for a cell phone
- Draft agreement: city contribution of up to 18% of salary to a 401(a) retirement plan
- Draft agreement: $500 a month expense stipend
- FY2027 budget: the contract gives a 5% raise each year
- Travel and per diem budget: $26,100 (FY2027)
- Retirement contributions for the office: $155,842 (FY2027)
Doral city staff
The budget lists authorized positions by department but not individual pay. Florida has no statewide public pay database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Doral 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: $70.4M (2025-09-30). The city's own target: Keep reserves of at least 15% of the general operating budget. For FY2027 the budget puts that at $16,607,879. The city meets this target. City of Doral · Apr 30, 2026
Bar: unassigned savings of $70.4M. Line: the amount the city's target calls for.
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 (adopted).
Comes from
- Property taxes$35M · 32%
- Electric utility tax$12.7M · 11%
- Charges for services (police details, recreation, parking)$11.2M · 10%
- Electric franchise fees$10M · 9%
- Half-cent sales tax (state)$8.3M · 7%
- Use of general fund balance (one-time capital)$7.8M · 7%
- Communications services tax$4.6M · 4%
- Interest income$3.1M · 3%
- Other (fines, speed cameras, permits, state sharing, other taxes)$17.9M · 16%
Goes to (FY2026-27 (adopted))
- Police$41.6M · 38%
- Parks and recreation$17.2M · 15%
- General government (incl. transfers and debt service)$12.4M · 11%
- Public works$12M · 11%
- Information technology$11.4M · 10%
- Human resources$2.2M · 2%
- Mayor and council$2M · 2%
- Other (planning, code, finance, manager, clerk, attorney and more)$11.9M · 11%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Of each property-tax dollar a Doral homeowner pays, about 13 cents goes to the city. For FY2026-27 the city cut its operating rate to 1.5994 mills, equal to the rolled-back rate, and its debt rate to 0.3600 mills.
13¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Doral
- Miami-Dade County School BoardOperating 5.4990, voter-approved operating 1.0000, debt 0.13406.633 · 39%
- Miami-Dade CountyOperating 4.5740 plus debt 0.41714.9911 · 29%
- Miami-Dade Fire Rescue district2.3965 · 14%
- City of DoralOperating 1.7166 plus park bond debt 0.48102.1976 · 13%
- The Children's Trust0.4638 · 3%
- Miami-Dade library district0.2812 · 2%
- South Florida Water Management District (incl. Everglades and Okeechobee Basin levies)0.2301 · 1%
- Florida Inland Navigation District0.027 · <1%
- Total (mills)17.2203
2025 tax year (FY2025-26) rates for a home in the City of Doral (Miami-Dade County). Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser
Who provides your services
Not everything in Doral is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityCity of Doral Police DepartmentCity of Doral · Apr 30, 2026
- ParksThe cityCity of Doral Parks and Recreation DepartmentCity of Doral · Apr 30, 2026
- Streets and public worksThe cityCity of Doral Public Works DepartmentCity of Doral · Apr 30, 2026
- StormwaterThe cityCity of Doral (Stormwater Fund)City of Doral · Apr 30, 2026
- Building permits, planning and zoningThe cityCity of Doral Building and Planning & Zoning departmentsCity of Doral · Apr 30, 2026
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 | DoralFL | LargoFL | KissimmeeFL | Daytona BeachFL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 83,746 | 84,075 | 87,664 | 88,144 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | $248,887 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | $56,483 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,322 | $1,610 | $1,387 | $1,847 |
| Debt per resident | $1,722 | $2,309 | $1,721 | $2,523 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $485 | $373 | $530 | $1,282 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | — | 11.8 | 9.3 | 11.5 |
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). Largo pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Doral publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Audited financial report filed on timeThe FY2025 report is dated April 30, 2026, before the June 30 state deadline, and is on the Florida Auditor General site. Florida Auditor General
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe full FY2027 adopted budget book and a short budget-in-brief are on the city's website. City of Doral · Sep 22, 2026
- No: Council votes recorded member by member onlineThe city's Legistar portal posts agendas and packets, but its 2026 meeting records list minutes only as draft, with no minutes file. City of Doral
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe charter caps pay at $80,690 for the mayor and $56,483 for each council member. The budget shows the total. City of Doral Charter, amended as of Nov. 5, 2024
Questions to ask your council
- The five-year plan has the operating rate rising from 1.5994 mills to 1.7600 mills in FY2028. What would have to happen to avoid that increase?
- The city owed $144.2 million on September 30, 2025, mostly general obligation bonds for parks. How will the planned police headquarters be financed without adding to that?
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