How Doraville is run
Who runs Doraville, 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 Doraville's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Doraville
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
Doraville city staff
Georgia has no statewide pay database. The budget lists positions by pay grade but not individual salaries. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Doraville 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: $1.3M (2025-09-30). City of Doraville · Aug 26, 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
- Taxes$21M · 84%
- Fines and forfeitures$1.3M · 5%
- Licenses and permits$1.1M · 5%
- Intergovernmental$566,000 · 2%
- Other financing sources (transfers in)$426,875 · 2%
- Investments$300,000 · 1%
- Other (miscellaneous, charges for services, donations)$413,252 · 2%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$9.4M · 38%
- Non-operating (pension, transfers, pass-throughs)$2.8M · 11%
- Public works$2.2M · 9%
- Planning and zoning$1.1M · 5%
- E-911$970,874 · 4%
- Finance$889,260 · 4%
- City manager$861,459 · 3%
- Other (council, clerk, legal, IT, court, recreation, library and smaller departments)$6.8M · 27%
Who provides your services
Not everything in Doraville is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityDoraville Police DepartmentCity of Doraville · Aug 26, 2026
- Fire protectionThe countyDeKalb CountyCity of Doraville · Aug 26, 2026
- WaterThe countyDeKalb CountyCity of Doraville · Aug 26, 2026
- SewerThe countyDeKalb CountyCity of Doraville · Aug 26, 2026
- StreetsThe cityCity of DoravilleCity of Doraville · Aug 26, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of DoravilleCity of Doraville · Aug 26, 2026
- StormwaterThe cityCity of Doraville stormwater fundCity of Doraville · Aug 26, 2026
- Planning and zoningThe cityCity of DoravilleCity of Doraville · Aug 26, 2026
- Municipal courtThe cityCity of DoravilleCity of Doraville · Aug 26, 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 | DoravilleGA | NorcrossGA | St MarysGA | LagrangeGA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 16,365 | 19,086 | 20,546 | 34,730 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | $225,000 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | $9,600 |
| General fund per resident | $1,532 | $1,235 | $1,059 | $1,299 |
| Debt per resident | $2,506 | $0 | $3,210 | $1,564 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $626 | $117 | $7 | $323 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | — | 7.8 | 8.8 | 13.1 |
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). Doraville pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Doraville publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Partly: Adopted budget posted online City of Doraville
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineThe city manager page names Chuck Atkinson. We found no employment agreement posted; the budget lists the job as paid by contract. City of Doraville
- No: Council votes recorded member by member onlineMeeting summaries mark items approved but do not record how each member voted. City of Doraville · Sep 16, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineThe Granicus portal posts agendas, packets, meeting summaries and videos for council meetings. City of Doraville
Questions to ask your council
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $1,277,188 on September 30, 2025, against general fund spending of $21,485,283 that year. What reserve level does the council aim for?
- The general fund balance fell $3,375,242 in FY2024-25, mostly from transfers to other funds. Will the FY2027 budget of $25,074,277 rebuild it?
- The city's pension plan was 68.17% funded, with a $10,245,519 net pension liability, on September 30, 2025. What is the plan to close the gap?
- Bonds and notes totaled $41,006,022 on September 30, 2025, after new bonds for the downtown City Center. How will the city repay them?
The fiscal year runs October 1 to September 30. For FY2027 the council held public hearings on September 9 and September 16, 2026, and approved the budget on September 16, 2026. See who is running for council
Help decide what comes next
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