How Leesburg is run
Who runs Leesburg, 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 Leesburg's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Leesburg
A city manager hired by the commission runs the city day to day, appoints the department heads and approves all hiring. The five-member City Commission passes ordinances and resolutions, adopts the budget and hires the city manager and city attorney.
What they are paid
- Commission travel budget: $10,040 (FY2027 proposed)
- Commission training budget: $3,525 (FY2027 proposed)
Leesburg city staff
559 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 122, Fire 57. FY2026-27. Authorized positions in the proposed FY2027 budget, 352.77 of them in the general fund. The FY2025 audit counts 541 full-time equivalents. City of Leesburg · Jun 25, 2026
The budget lists the total pay for each job title, but not the pay of named employees other than the totals for a single position. Florida has no statewide pay database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Leesburg 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: $16.3M (2025-09-30). The city's own target: Keep a general fund reserve of at least 20% of the year's budgeted appropriations, measured against the unassigned fund balance. For the FY2025 budget of $37.5 million that target was $7.5 million. The city meets this target. City of Leesburg · Jun 30, 2026
Bar: unassigned savings of $16.3M. 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.
Comes from
- Transfers from other funds (mostly the city's utilities)$11.3M · 26%
- Property taxes$11.1M · 25%
- Utility taxes$6.7M · 15%
- Licenses, permits and fees (mostly the fire assessment)$5.4M · 12%
- Intergovernmental revenue$4.6M · 10%
- Other (miscellaneous, charges for services, fines)$4.6M · 11%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Public safety (police and fire)$26.4M · 60%
- General government$6.5M · 15%
- Culture and recreation (library, parks)$6M · 14%
- Transportation$1.6M · 4%
- Transfers to other funds$1.5M · 3%
- Other (other uses, physical and economic environment, human services, camera fund reserve)$1.7M · 4%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Of each property-tax dollar a Leesburg homeowner paid, about 22 cents went to the city. For FY2027 the commission lowered the city rate to 3.3783 mills, the rolled-back rate.
22¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Leesburg
- Lake County School District6.085 · 39%
- Lake County5.0364 · 32%
- City of Leesburg3.4752 · 22%
- Ambulance district0.4629 · 3%
- Lake County Water Authority0.294 · 2%
- Water management district0.1793 · 1%
- Hospital district0.15 · <1%
- Total (mills)15.6828
FY2025 rates for a home in Leesburg (Lake County), as listed in the city's audit. City of Leesburg · Jun 30, 2026
See what a Leesburg home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Leesburg is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityCity of Leesburg Police DepartmentCity of Leesburg · Jun 30, 2026
- Natural gasThe cityCity of Leesburg gas utilityCity of Leesburg · Jun 30, 2026
- Water and reuse waterThe cityCity of LeesburgCity of Leesburg · Jun 30, 2026
- StormwaterThe cityCity of LeesburgCity of Leesburg · Jun 30, 2026
- StreetsThe cityCity of LeesburgCity of Leesburg · Jun 30, 2026
- LibraryThe cityCity of Leesburg (part of the Lake County library system)City of Leesburg · Jun 30, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of LeesburgCity of Leesburg · Jun 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 | DunedinFL | LeesburgFL | Winter SpringsFL | AventuraFL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 35,742 | 37,541 | 39,170 | 40,171 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not current (2017) | $261,706 | $225,000 | $237,500 |
| Council member pay | $11,500 | $14,229 | Not confirmed | $7,500 |
| General fund per resident | $1,377 | $1,165 | $689 | $1,416 |
| Debt per resident | $2,623 | $3,370 | $522 | $274 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $100 | $149 | $-107 | $308 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 12.0 | 14.9 | 5.1 | 5.0 |
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). Dunedin and Aventura pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Leesburg publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineWe did not find the city manager's employment agreement on the city manager's page or in recent agenda packets. The budget states his salary. City of Leesburg
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member online City of Leesburg
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe budget lists $19,893 for the mayor and $56,917 for the four other commissioners together. City of Leesburg · Jun 25, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2027 general fund counts on $11.3 million in transfers from other funds, more than the $11.1 million it expects from property taxes. How would lower utility revenue affect police, fire and library budgets?
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $16.3 million on Sept. 30, 2025, against a $7.5 million target. What does the commission plan to do with the amount above the target?
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