How Erlanger is run
Who runs Erlanger, 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 Erlanger's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Erlanger
The elected mayor heads the city government and appoints its top administrator and department heads. The council passes laws, adopts the budget and sets the tax rate.
What they are paid
Erlanger city staff
107 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 47, Fire/EMS 33, Public works 17, General government 10. FY2025. City of Erlanger · Dec 2, 2025
The city posts a yearly wage scale with pay ranges by job title (FY2026 latest found). Individual staff pay is not posted. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Erlanger 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 against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $10.9M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: The city keeps a Resilience Fund of at least $5 million and an Emergency Reserve Fund, and targets a total general fund balance of 30% of yearly spending. On June 30, 2025 the two committed reserves held $5.0M and $5.7M on top of the unassigned balance. City of Erlanger · Dec 2, 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
- Licenses and permits$14.4M · 65%
- Property taxes$4.7M · 21%
- Charges for service$1.2M · 5%
- Intergovernmental (state and federal)$1.2M · 5%
- Interest$565,745 · 3%
- Other (fines, property use, miscellaneous)$114,519 · 1%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$8.6M · 39%
- Fire/EMS$6.3M · 29%
- Public works$3.5M · 16%
- General government$3.1M · 14%
- Communications, technology and innovation$385,743 · 2%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Of each property-tax dollar an Erlanger homeowner pays, about 16 cents goes to the city and about 60 cents to the school district. The city set its 2026 real property rate at $0.241 per $100.
16¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Erlanger
- Erlanger-Elsmere School District0.945 · 60%
- City of Erlanger0.247 · 16%
- Kenton County0.125 · 8%
- State of Kentucky0.109 · 7%
- Library0.103 · 7%
- Other districts0.034 · 2%
- Area planning0.019 · 1%
- Total ($ per $100 of assessed value)1.582
FY2025 property tax rates for a home in the city of Erlanger (Kenton County). City of Erlanger · Dec 2, 2025
See what a Erlanger home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Erlanger is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityErlanger Police DepartmentCity of Erlanger
- FireThe cityErlanger Fire/EMS DepartmentCity of Erlanger
- Snow removalThe cityErlanger Public Works Department6 trucksCity of Erlanger
- Street sweepingThe cityErlanger Public Works DepartmentCity of Erlanger
- ParksThe cityCity of Erlanger (park improvement fund)City of Erlanger
- School resource officersThe cityErlanger Police DepartmentCity of Erlanger
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 | MurrayKY | MadisonvilleKY | WinchesterKY | ErlangerKY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 18,964 | 19,428 | 19,514 | 20,158 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | $4,468 |
| General fund per resident | $1,381 | $2,017 | $1,486 | $1,085 |
| Debt per resident | $2,832 | $1,096 | $3,179 | $0 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $1,163 | $2,548 | $1,632 | $1,155 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 9.4 | 17.2 | 8.6 | 5.3 |
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 Erlanger publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted online City of Erlanger · May 27, 2026
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineThe municipal order appointing the City Administrator is posted, but it states no pay or terms. We found no employment contract. City of Erlanger · Aug 1, 2025
- Partly: Council votes recorded member by member onlinePosted minutes name each member on split votes (7-2 on March 3, 2026). Unanimous votes are recorded as "All ayes." City of Erlanger · Apr 3, 2026
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public document City of Erlanger · Apr 6, 2026
- Partly: Employee pay publishedThe FY2026 wage scale with pay ranges by job title is posted. We found no FY2027 wage scale and no individual pay. City of Erlanger · Jun 16, 2025
Questions to ask your council
- The city's share of the CERS hazardous (police and fire) pension shortfall is $19.3 million, and that plan was 57.05% funded. How does the budget plan for rising pension costs?
- The mayor's pay has been $15,000 a year. Will the council vote on the proposed raise, and when would it take effect?
Help decide what comes next
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