How Hialeah is run
Who runs Hialeah, 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 Hialeah's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Hialeah
The elected mayor heads the city government and appoints its top administrator and department heads. The council passes laws, adopts the budget and sets the tax rate.
What they are paid
- No city car, car allowance or security detail
- No pension: the elected officials' retirement plan has been closed since FY2014
Hialeah city staff
1,312 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police (full-time) 460, Fire and EMS (full-time) 279. FY2026-27. City of Hialeah · Sep 8, 2026
Florida has no statewide pay database, and we found no city-published list of pay by position. Individual salaries reported in the news come from public records requests. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Hialeah 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: $60.8M (2025-09-30). The city's own target: Keep unassigned general fund balance of at least 10% of the year's general fund operating spending. If it falls short, the mayor must plan to rebuild it within five years, and using it needs council approval. City of Hialeah · Jun 30, 2026
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
- Property taxes$141M · 56%
- State and other governments$34.6M · 14%
- Utility taxes$29.1M · 12%
- Charges for services$12.6M · 5%
- Franchise fees$12.1M · 5%
- From savings (fund balance)$9.1M · 4%
- Licenses and permits$7.3M · 3%
- Other (interest, asset sales, misc.)$6.5M · 3%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$89.5M · 35%
- Fire and EMS$62.1M · 25%
- Citywide costs and transfers to other funds (General Government)$27.2M · 11%
- Parks$18.8M · 7%
- 911 communications$7.5M · 3%
- Information technology$6.5M · 3%
- Other (clerk and council, finance, HR, law, library, community services, special events, planning, code compliance and more)$40.6M · 16%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Of each property-tax dollar a Hialeah homeowner pays, about 34 cents goes to the city. Hialeah runs its own fire department and libraries, so the county fire rescue and library district levies do not apply. For FY2026-27 the city kept its rate at 6.3018 mills.
34¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Hialeah
- Miami-Dade County School BoardOperating 5.4990, voter-approved operating 1.0000, debt 0.13406.633 · 36%
- City of Hialeah6.3018 · 34%
- Miami-Dade CountyOperating 4.5740 plus debt 0.41714.9911 · 27%
- The Children's Trust0.4638 · 2%
- South Florida Water Management District (incl. Everglades and Okeechobee Basin levies)0.2301 · 1%
- Florida Inland Navigation District0.027 · <1%
- Total (mills)18.6468
2025 tax year (FY2025-26) rates for a home in the city of Hialeah (Miami-Dade County). Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser
See what a Hialeah house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Hialeah is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityHialeah Police DepartmentCity of Hialeah
- FireThe cityHialeah Fire DepartmentCity of Hialeah
- EMS / ambulanceThe cityHialeah Fire Department (EMS Division)City of Hialeah
- 911 dispatchThe cityCity of Hialeah 911 Communications Division (Police Department)City of Hialeah
- WaterThe cityCity of Hialeah Water & Sewer DivisionCity of Hialeah
- SewerThe cityCity of Hialeah Water & Sewer Division (collection)City of Hialeah
- RecyclingContractorCoastal Waste & Recycling of Florida (city franchise)City of Hialeah
- LibrariesThe cityCity of Hialeah Library DivisionCity of Hialeah
- ParksThe cityCity of Hialeah Parks & Community EngagementCity of Hialeah
- City streetsThe cityCity of Hialeah Streets DepartmentCity of Hialeah
- Local busesThe cityCity of Hialeah Transit (free)City of Hialeah
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 | TallahasseeFL | Cape CoralFL | HialeahFL | Port St LucieFL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 205,623 | 222,862 | 232,243 | 260,194 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $317,000 | $314,205 | $205,000 | $321,321 |
| Council member pay | $102,723 | Not confirmed | $44,000 | $72,786 |
| General fund per resident | $1,151 | $1,269 | $1,086 | $893 |
| Debt per resident | $4,803 | $4,912 | $425 | $2,229 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $631 | $429 | $1,472 | $4 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 14.9 | 9.4 | 5.6 | 6.0 |
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). Tallahassee pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Hialeah 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 timeFY2025 report dated June 30, 2026 and posted on the Florida Auditor General site, meeting the June 30 deadline. Florida Auditor General
- Partly: Adopted budget posted online City of Hialeah
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineHialeah has no city manager. We found no contract or pay resolution for the mayor's chief of staff; his salary is known from news reports. City of Hialeah
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineCouncil minutes list each member's yes or no vote, e.g. the 6-1 first-reading vote on the FY2027 budget. City of Hialeah
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes online City of Hialeah
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe city clerk's candidate guides state council pay ($44,000.32) and the mayor's charter salary ($150,000). City of Hialeah
- No: Employee pay publishedWe found no city-published pay list. News reports on staff pay rely on payroll records obtained through public records requests. Miami Herald (via Yahoo News) · Oct 1, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2027 general fund budget uses $9.1 million of fund balance. If the November 2026 property tax amendment passes, which services or reserves would the city adjust first?
- The chief of staff's salary rose to $205,000 in 2026, above the mayor's $150,000. Will the city publish a pay resolution or salary schedule for the mayor's appointed staff?
- The city's Employees' Retirement System was 69.71% funded, with a $341.9 million net pension liability. What is the plan to close that gap?
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $60.8 million in September 2025, well above the 10% policy minimum. What level does the council consider the right target?
Help decide what comes next
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