How St. Marys is run
Who runs St. Marys, 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 St. Marys's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs St. Marys
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
St. Marys city staff
181 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2023-24. City of St. Marys · Jun 1, 2024
Georgia has no statewide pay database. The budget lists positions by department but not salaries. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is St. Marys 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.
The city's own outlook
The FY2025 budget's three-year forecast shows general fund spending of $21,751,874 in FY2025, $22,404,430 in FY2026 and $22,852,519 in FY2027. The FY2025 budget used $3,649,109 of fund equity. City of St. Marys · Jun 1, 2024
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $8M (2024-06-30). The city's own target: Keep unassigned general fund balance of at least four months of regular general fund operating revenues or expenditures. The city meets this target. City of St. Marys · Nov 13, 2024
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 FY2024-25.
Comes from
- Property and other taxes$12.3M · 56%
- Fund equity (reserves used)$3.6M · 17%
- Sale of property and loan proceeds$2.6M · 12%
- Grants and reimbursements$952,000 · 4%
- Miscellaneous revenues$928,100 · 4%
- Licenses and permits$762,300 · 4%
- Other (sales, interest and charges)$580,850 · 3%
Goes to (FY2024-25)
- Fire$4.8M · 22%
- Police$4.4M · 20%
- Public works$2.6M · 12%
- Finance$1.8M · 8%
- Highways and streets$1.6M · 7%
- Government buildings$1.4M · 6%
- Other (executive, legislative, library, planning and smaller departments)$5.1M · 23%
Who provides your services
Not everything in St. Marys is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe citySt. Marys Police DepartmentCity of St. Marys · Nov 13, 2024
- Fire protectionThe citySt. Marys Fire DepartmentCity of St. Marys · Nov 13, 2024
- Water and sewerThe cityCity of St. Marys water and sewer utilityCity of St. Marys · Nov 13, 2024
- Streets and road repairThe cityCity of St. Marys public worksCity of St. Marys · Nov 13, 2024
- Trash pickupContractorCumberland ServicesThe city switched to Cumberland Services for solid waste pickup in FY2023.City of St. Marys · Jun 1, 2024
- LibraryThe cityCity of St. Marys (general fund library budget)City of St. Marys · Nov 13, 2024
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 St. Marys 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 onlineThe city manager page names Mike Mahaney and says Coming Soon. We found no employment agreement posted. City of St. Marys
- No: Council votes recorded member by member onlineThe meeting portal posts council agendas and videos; we found no council minutes with roll-call votes there. City of St. Marys
- Partly: Council pay stated in a public documentThe FY2025 budget shows $65,400 in legislative salaries for the mayor and council combined, not per member. City of St. Marys · Jun 1, 2024
- No: Employee pay publishedThe budget lists positions by department but no salaries; we found no pay schedule on the city site. City of St. Marys · Jun 1, 2024
Questions to ask your council
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $7,982,551 on June 30, 2024. How does that compare with the city's rule of four months of general fund revenue or spending?
- In FY2023-24, general fund spending of $18,364,161 was above revenue of $14,908,614, and transfers of $3,763,601 closed the gap. How will future budgets cover that difference?
- The FY2025 budget used $3,649,109 of fund equity. Will later budgets keep drawing on reserves?
- The city owed $65,956,431 in bonds, notes and financed purchases on June 30, 2024. What is the plan to repay it?
The fiscal year runs July 1 to June 30. Council holds budget workshops and a public hearing, then adopts the budget before June 30. For FY2027 the hearing was May 18, 2026, and adoption was on the June 1, 2026 agenda. See who is running for council
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