How Danville is run
Who runs Danville, 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 Danville's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Danville
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
Danville city staff
The city publishes pay grade ranges in its compensation plan. We found no readable staff count or list of individual employee pay. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Danville 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 FY2026-27 budget document has no written outlook. It plans $24.8 million of general fund revenue against $27.1 million of spending, with a $15.9 million fund balance carried forward to cover the gap. City of Danville · Jun 22, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $14.5M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: The city aims to keep a fund balance of at least 25% of total operating costs, debt service and non-departmental spending. City of Danville · Feb 2, 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
- Occupational license fees on wages$12.2M · 45%
- Insurance premium tax$3.4M · 13%
- Property taxes$2.6M · 10%
- Drawn from general fund reserves$2.3M · 9%
- Occupational license fees on business net profits$2M · 7%
- Kentucky Utilities franchise fee$1M · 4%
- Service revenue (mostly contracts and cost recovery)$979,870 · 4%
- Quarterly alcohol tax$825,000 · 3%
- Other$1.7M · 6%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$7M · 26%
- Fire and emergency services$5.4M · 20%
- Transfers to other funds (mostly parks)$3M · 11%
- Public services$2.2M · 8%
- Debt service$2.1M · 8%
- Legislative and executive$1.9M · 7%
- 911 communications$1.7M · 6%
- Finance and administration$1.1M · 4%
- Other$2.7M · 10%
Who provides your services
Not everything in Danville is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityDanville Police DepartmentCity of Danville · Feb 2, 2026
- FireThe cityCity of Danville Fire DepartmentCity of Danville · Feb 2, 2026
- Water and sewerThe cityCity of Danville UtilitiesCity of Danville · Feb 2, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Danville Parks and RecreationCity of Danville · Feb 2, 2026
- StreetsThe cityCity of DanvilleCity of Danville · Feb 2, 2026
- CemeteryThe cityCity of DanvilleCity of Danville · Feb 2, 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 | BereaKY | Fort ThomasKY | DanvilleKY | St MatthewsKY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 16,662 | 17,142 | 17,736 | 17,868 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | Not current (2022) | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not current (2019) | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,571 | $1,338 | $1,530 | $1,673 |
| Debt per resident | $690 | $492 | $3,751 | $17 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $1,272 | $1,120 | $1,555 | $652 |
| 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). St Matthews pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Danville 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 contract online. The city's pay plan lists the City Manager at grade NH-17. City of Danville · Feb 23, 2026
- Partly: Employee pay publishedThe compensation plan lists pay grade ranges for city jobs, not individual pay. City of Danville · Feb 23, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2026-27 budget plans $27.1 million of general fund spending against $24.8 million of revenue. How long can the city cover that gap from its $14.5 million unassigned reserve?
- Occupational license fees on wages are budgeted at $12.2 million in FY2026-27, about half of general fund revenue. How would the city respond if payroll income slows?
- The city's share of the CERS pension liability was $27.6 million on June 30, 2025. What is the plan to pay it down?
- The city owed $66.5 million in bonds and loans on June 30, 2025, most of it for water and sewer. How will planned utility projects change that total?
The fiscal year starts July 1. The FY2026-27 budget, Ordinance #2066, passed its first reading on June 8, 2026 and its second reading on June 22, 2026. See who is running for council
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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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