How Florence is run
Who runs Florence, 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 Florence's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Florence
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
Florence city staff
244 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2024. Full-time employees on the city's 2024 organizational chart, plus 2 part-time. City of Florence · Sep 27, 2024
The city posts its pay plan and authorized positions ordinance, but the posted exhibits list positions and rules, not pay amounts. Individual staff pay is not posted. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Florence 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
Unassigned general fund balance: $66M (2024-06-30). City of Florence · Sep 27, 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 FY2023-24.
Comes from
- Licenses and permits$29.4M · 56%
- Taxes$10.9M · 21%
- Charges for services$7.5M · 14%
- Investment income$2.7M · 5%
- Intergovernmental$927,037 · 2%
- Fines and forfeitures$828,251 · 2%
- Other (miscellaneous)$316,043 · 1%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Fire / EMS$16.5M · 30%
- Police$14.6M · 27%
- Public services$8.2M · 15%
- Capital outlay$7M · 13%
- Administration$5.5M · 10%
- IT$1.8M · 3%
- Other agencies$580,000 · 1%
- Debt service$580,000 · 1%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Of each property-tax dollar a Florence homeowner pays, about 20 cents goes to the city and about 57 cents to the school district. For 2026 the city kept its general rate at $0.187 and cut the police and fire pension levy to $0.027 per $100.
20¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Florence
- Boone County School District0.655 · 57%
- City of Florence$0.187 general rate plus $0.044 for police and fire pension costs.0.231 · 20%
- State of Kentucky0.106 · 9%
- Boone County0.085 · 7%
- Library district0.041 · 4%
- Health district0.02 · 2%
- Extension district0.0155 · 1%
- Total ($ per $100 of assessed value)1.1535
2025 rates for a home in the city of Florence (Boone County). Boone County Fiscal Court
See what a Florence house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Florence is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityFlorence Police DepartmentCity of Florence · Sep 27, 2024
- FireThe cityFlorence Fire/EMS DepartmentCity of Florence · Sep 27, 2024
- EMS (ambulance)The cityFlorence Fire/EMS DepartmentAdvanced life supportCity of Florence · Sep 27, 2024
- WaterThe cityCity of FlorenceWater is bought from the Boone-Florence Water Commission, which gets it from Greater Cincinnati Water Works.City of Florence
- SewerThe cityCity of FlorenceCity of Florence · Sep 27, 2024
- StormwaterThe cityCity of FlorenceCity of Florence · Sep 27, 2024
- StreetsThe cityCity of FlorenceCity of Florence · Sep 27, 2024
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of FlorenceCity of Florence · Sep 27, 2024
- Planning, zoning and code enforcementThe cityCity of FlorenceCity of Florence · Sep 27, 2024
- Golf course (World of Golf)ContractorTroon GolfCity of Florence · Jun 9, 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 | IndependenceKY | HopkinsvilleKY | FlorenceKY | ElizabethtownKY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 30,198 | 30,411 | 34,018 | 35,448 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | $14,000 | $20,605 | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $511 | $1,752 | $1,594 | $2,104 |
| Debt per resident | $20 | $1,780 | $49 | $2,600 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $323 | $1,591 | $1,724 | $1,389 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | — | 10.4 | 7.2 | — |
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 Florence publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- No: Audited financial report filed on timeThe latest audited report posted is for FY2024. June 2026 minutes say the FY2025 and FY2026 audits are still to be completed. City of Florence · Jun 9, 2026
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineThe Administration page names the City Administrator. We found no posted contract or pay document. City of Florence
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlinePosted minutes record roll call votes by member name, for example on June 9, 2026. City of Florence · Jun 9, 2026
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentOrdinance O-5-2024 sets council pay at $20,605 a year and the mayor's pay from 2027 at $86,937. City of Florence · Mar 5, 2024
- No: Employee pay publishedThe FY2026-27 pay plan ordinance is posted, but its exhibits list positions and rules, not pay amounts. City of Florence · Jun 16, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The general fund's unassigned balance was $65,990,256 on June 30, 2024, more than its $54,418,402 of spending that year. What level of reserves does the council aim to keep?
- The latest posted audit is for FY2023-24, and the FY2025 audit is still not complete during a federal investigation into diverted revenue. When will the FY2025 and FY2026 audits be published?
- The city's net pension liability was $58.6M on June 30, 2024. How does the budget plan for rising CERS pension costs?
The fiscal year starts July 1. Departments submit budget requests, the mayor delivers a budget address in early June, and the council adopts the budget by ordinance before July 1. In 2026 the council passed it on first reading June 9 and adopted it June 16. The council set the 2026 property tax rates on September 1. See who is running for council
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