How Marco Island is run
Who runs Marco Island, 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 Marco Island's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Marco Island
A city manager appointed by the council runs the city day to day and appoints the department heads. The seven-member council passes ordinances, approves the budget and hires the city manager and city attorney. There is no separately elected mayor: the council picks one of its members as chair each year.
What they are paid
- Waived city medical, dental, vision and life insurance
- City 401(a) and 457 retirement plans on the same terms as other executives
- 20 weeks' base salary as severance if fired without cause
- City cell phone; mileage paid for out-of-county city travel
- City pays professional dues, conferences and training, subject to budget approval
- Not required to live in the city
Marco Island city staff
268 full-time-equivalent positions, including Water and sewer 75, Fire-rescue 47, Police 42, Building services 29. FY2026-27. City of Marco Island · Sep 22, 2026
Florida has no statewide pay database. The city budget shows salary totals by department but no pay by position. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Marco Island 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: $11.4M (2025-09-30). The city's own target: Council policy sets an emergency reserve of 25% of the proposed year's general fund operating budget. The reserve is held inside the unassigned balance: $7,019,365 of the $11,415,452. The city meets this target. City of Marco Island · Jun 22, 2026
Bar: unassigned savings of $11.4M. 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.
Comes from
- Property taxes$23.5M · 68%
- State half-cent sales tax$2.8M · 8%
- Local option fuel taxes$1.1M · 3%
- Interest$1.1M · 3%
- State revenue sharing$825,000 · 2%
- Other (fees, fines, charges and transfers in)$4.9M · 14%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Fire-rescue$9.6M · 28%
- Police$7.2M · 21%
- Administration (council, manager, finance, legal, IT, growth management)$5.6M · 16%
- Public works$3.6M · 10%
- Transfer to capital projects$2.2M · 6%
- Fleet and facilities$2M · 6%
- Transfer for debt payments$1.6M · 5%
- Other (parks, code compliance, other transfers)$2.5M · 7%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
The city's rate is the third largest on a Marco Island tax bill, about 14 cents of each property-tax dollar. The council kept the city rate at 1.2670 mills for FY2026-27.
14¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Marco Island
- Collier County School Board4.249 · 47%
- Collier County3.0107 · 33%
- City of Marco Island1.267 · 14%
- Collier County (other levies)0.2096 · 2%
- Collier Mosquito Control District0.1349 · 1%
- Big Cypress Basin0.0978 · 1%
- South Florida Water Management District0.0948 · 1%
- Water Pollution Control0.0246 · <1%
- Total (mills)9.0884
FY2025-26 rates for a home in the city of Marco Island (Collier County). City of Marco Island · Jun 22, 2026
Who provides your services
Not everything in Marco Island is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityMarco Island Police DepartmentCity of Marco Island · Jun 22, 2026
- FireThe cityMarco Island Fire-RescueCity of Marco Island · Jun 22, 2026
- EMS / ambulanceThe countyCollier CountyEmergency medical service and transportCity of Marco Island · Jun 22, 2026
- WaterThe cityCity of Marco Island Water and Sewer UtilityAbout 11,000 utility accountsCity of Marco Island · Jun 22, 2026
- SewerThe cityCity of Marco Island Water and Sewer UtilityCity of Marco Island · Jun 22, 2026
- Streets and bridgesThe cityCity of Marco Island Public WorksCity of Marco Island · Jun 22, 2026
- DrainageThe cityCity of Marco IslandCity of Marco Island · Jun 22, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Marco IslandCity of Marco Island · Jun 22, 2026
- Planning and zoningThe cityCity of Marco IslandCity of Marco Island · Jun 22, 2026
- Code enforcementThe cityCity of Marco IslandCity of Marco Island · Jun 22, 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 | Key BiscayneFL | Marco IslandFL | Opa LockaFL | LongwoodFL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 14,653 | 16,194 | 16,559 | 16,641 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $252,847 | $228,744 | $190,000 | $185,543 |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | $6,000 | $6,600 | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $3,222 | $2,120 | $2,108 | $1,641 |
| Debt per resident | $864 | $7,547 | $191 | $991 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $-763 | $31 | $745 | $-11 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 9.8 | 16.5 | 11.4 | 10.6 |
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 Marco Island 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 June 22, 2026, within Florida's nine-month deadline, and is posted on the Florida Auditor General site. Florida Auditor General
- Yes: Adopted budget posted online City of Marco Island · Sep 22, 2026
- Yes: City manager's contract findable onlineThe 2026 contract is attached to the June 15, 2026 council agenda item on the city's Legistar site. City of Marco Island · Jun 15, 2026
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member online City of Marco Island · Jun 15, 2026
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe City Charter sets $6,000 a year for councilors and $9,000 for the chair, as restated in Ordinance 24-01. City of Marco Island · Jan 8, 2024
- No: Employee pay publishedWe found no city-published pay list by position. The budget shows salary totals by department. Florida has no statewide pay database. City of Marco Island · Sep 22, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $11.4 million on September 30, 2025, of which $7.0 million is the 25% emergency reserve. What is the plan for the amount above that reserve?
- City debt totaled $122.2 million on September 30, 2025, most of it owed by the water and sewer utility. How will future water and sewer rates cover that debt and planned plant upgrades?
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