How Berea is run
Who runs Berea, 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 Berea's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Berea
Berea has a part-time elected mayor and an eight-member council that passes ordinances and the budget. A full-time City Administrator, selected by the mayor and approved by the council, runs daily operations.
What they are paid
Berea city staff
The budget lists budgeted positions by department. We found no list of individual employee pay. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Berea 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 city says it budgets revenue conservatively, and that actual revenue usually beats the estimate while spending comes in under budget. As adopted, the FY2026-27 budget would lower general fund balance by $2.6 million from an estimated $26.5 million. City of Berea · Jun 16, 2026
Savings
Unassigned general fund balance: $12.7M (2025-06-30). City of Berea · Dec 22, 2025
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
- Occupational license fee on payroll$8.8M · 33%
- Grants (mostly for capital projects)$3.8M · 14%
- Drawn from general fund balance$2.7M · 10%
- Transfers in from other funds$2.3M · 9%
- Insurance premium tax (license fee)$1.6M · 6%
- Occupational license fee on business net profits$1.4M · 5%
- Franchise fees$1.3M · 5%
- Real property taxes$1.1M · 4%
- Other$3.3M · 13%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Capital projects$6.1M · 23%
- Police$5M · 19%
- Fire$3.8M · 15%
- Public works$3.5M · 13%
- General government$1.6M · 6%
- Mayor and council (incl. 911 and outside agencies)$1.4M · 5%
- Parks operations$907,250 · 3%
- Administration$894,600 · 3%
- Other$2.9M · 11%
Who provides your services
Not everything in Berea is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityBerea Police DepartmentCity of Berea
- FireThe cityBerea Fire Department27 career and 24 volunteer firefighters; also covers southern Madison County.City of Berea
- Electricity, water and sewerThe cityBerea Municipal UtilitiesCity of Berea
- Trash collectionContractorWaste ConnectionsCity of Berea
- StreetsThe cityCity of Berea Public WorksCity of Berea
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Berea Parks and RecreationCity of Berea
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 | ShivelyKY | BereaKY | Fort ThomasKY | DanvilleKY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 15,895 | 16,662 | 17,142 | 17,736 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not current (2023) | Not confirmed | Not current (2022) | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not current (2019) |
| General fund per resident | $1,152 | $1,571 | $1,338 | $1,530 |
| Debt per resident | $8 | $690 | $492 | $3,751 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $1,155 | $1,272 | $1,120 | $1,555 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | — | — | — | — |
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 Berea 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 found no City Administrator contract online. Council approved the hire in March 2025 subject to an employment contract. City of Berea · Mar 18, 2025
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineCouncil minutes list each member's vote on roll call votes, such as the FY2026-27 budget ordinance. City of Berea · Jun 16, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The occupational license fee on payroll is budgeted at $8.75 million in FY2026-27, the largest general fund source. How would the city respond if local payrolls shrink?
- The city's share of the CERS pension liability was $21.2 million on June 30, 2025. How does the budget plan for rising pension costs?
Help decide what comes next
What do you want to know about Berea next?
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Every number here was checked by hand against the linked document. Cities publish on different schedules, so years differ between sections; each figure says which year it describes. Spotted something wrong or out of date?
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