How Bowling Green is run
Who runs Bowling Green, 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 Bowling Green's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Bowling Green
A City Manager hired by the Board of Commissioners runs the city's day-to-day operations. The five-member Board of Commissioners, the mayor and four commissioners, passes ordinances and adopts the budget.
What they are paid
Bowling Green city staff
560 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 179, Fire 170, Public Works 63, Parks & Recreation 62. 2025-06-30. City of Bowling Green · Nov 11, 2025
The city publishes pay ranges for job grades in its pay ordinance and budget. We found no city list of individual employee pay. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Bowling Green 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
City Manager Jeff Meisel said the general fund budget falls by about $6.7 million in FY2026-27, mostly because occupational tax revenue is projected lower, and called it a temporary correction. The budget adds no new positions and plans no direct service cuts, and he said the city does not use reserves for operating expenses. The adopted ordinance budgets general fund resources in and out at $110.2 million each. WNKY · Jun 9, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $11.8M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: The general fund keeps an economic stabilization reserve, committed by ordinance, equal to 25% of the adopted revenue budget. At June 30, 2025 that committed reserve was $26.8M, separate from the unassigned balance. City of Bowling Green · Nov 11, 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 fees (payroll and net profits)$76.9M · 70%
- Taxes (mostly property tax)$25M · 23%
- Parks and recreation fees$2.9M · 3%
- Transfers from other funds$2.3M · 2%
- Licenses and permits$1.1M · 1%
- Other$1.9M · 2%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Public safety (police and fire)$49.9M · 45%
- Transfers to other funds (capital and other)$14.2M · 13%
- Parks and recreation$14M · 13%
- General government$12.5M · 11%
- Public works$9.6M · 9%
- Neighborhood and community services$3.8M · 3%
- Other$6.1M · 6%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Kentucky values property at full market value. Homes in parts of the city annexed into the Warren County school district pay the county school rate (0.522) instead, for a total of 1.0545.
15¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Bowling Green
- Bowling Green Independent Schools0.848 · 61%
- Warren County0.2195 · 16%
- City of Bowling Green0.204 · 15%
- State of Kentucky0.109 · 8%
- Total ($ per $100 of assessed value)1.3805
FY2025 real estate rates for a home in the city of Bowling Green, inside the Bowling Green Independent school district (Warren County). City of Bowling Green · Nov 11, 2025
See what a Bowling Green home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Bowling Green is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityBowling Green Police DepartmentCity of Bowling Green · Nov 11, 2025
- FireThe cityBowling Green Fire DepartmentCity of Bowling Green · Nov 11, 2025
- StreetsThe cityCity of Bowling Green Public WorksCity of Bowling Green · Nov 11, 2025
- Parks and recreationThe cityBowling Green Parks and RecreationCity of Bowling Green · Nov 11, 2025
- Water and sewerThe cityBowling Green Municipal Utilities (BGMU) Water-Sewer DivisionCity of Bowling Green · Nov 11, 2025
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 | GeorgetownKY | CovingtonKY | OwensboroKY | Bowling GreenKY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 40,883 | 41,847 | 60,892 | 78,505 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | $14,837 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not current (2023) |
| General fund per resident | $1,396 | $1,755 | $1,316 | $1,403 |
| Debt per resident | $2,220 | $2,484 | $2,125 | $883 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $1,112 | $2,315 | $1,349 | $1,289 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 8.8 | 7.2 | 7.1 |
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).
What Bowling Green 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 Manager contract or pay figure on the city's website, including the City Manager page and its legal publications. City of Bowling Green
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member online City of Bowling Green · Jun 16, 2026
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentCity ordinances set commissioner pay at $31,500 (2023) and mayor pay at $38,500 (2025), plus yearly cost-of-living raises. City of Bowling Green · Dec 20, 2022
- Partly: Employee pay published City of Bowling Green · Jun 16, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $11.8 million on June 30, 2025, apart from the $26.8 million stabilization reserve. What level of unassigned reserve does the city aim to keep?
- Occupational fees on payroll and net profits are budgeted at $76.9 million of the $110.2 million general fund in FY2026-27, and the general fund budget shrank by about $6.7 million because those fees fell. How would the city respond if they fall further?
- The city's share of the state CERS pension shortfall was $101.2 million on June 30, 2025, more than its $69.4 million of bonds and notes. How will pension costs fit within a smaller budget?
The fiscal year starts July 1. The City Manager submits a recommended budget to the Board of Commissioners at least 30 days before July 1, and the budget ordinance must pass by June 30. The FY2026-27 budget ordinance was introduced on June 2, 2026 and adopted 5-0 on its second reading on June 16, 2026. See who is running for council
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