How Henderson is run
Who runs Henderson, 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 Henderson's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Henderson
A City Manager appointed by the Board of Commissioners runs the city's day-to-day operations. The five-member Board, the mayor and four commissioners, sets policy and adopts the budget.
What they are paid
- Monthly vehicle allowance at the city rate; he provides his own car
- $75 a month toward his personal cell phone
- 20 vacation days, 12 sick days and 1 personal day a year
- City-paid $500,000 term life insurance policy
- State CERS pension; he pays 6% of base salary
Henderson city staff
325 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 78, Fire 63, Finance 26, Gas system 25, Public Works 25, 911 dispatch 18. FY2026-27. Authorized full-time positions across all funds in FY2026-27, up 2 from FY2025-26. The budget also lists 8 part-time and 44 temporary or seasonal positions. City of Henderson · Jun 23, 2026
The budget lists authorized positions by department and publishes pay grade ranges. We found no list of individual employee pay. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Henderson 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 draws $6.4 million from general fund reserves, $3.9 million of it savings set aside for specific projects. The city projects smaller gaps of $1.1 million to $1.5 million a year through FY2029-30, with the fund balance falling to $14.4 million by June 30, 2030. The city calls the outlook stable for the next two years but says it may then need to re-evaluate its assigned balances. City of Henderson · Jun 23, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $458,251 (2025-06-30). The city's own target: The city's goal is a general fund reserve of at least three months of the general fund operating budget. It counts the whole general fund balance, $25.3M or 6.1 months on June 30, 2025, but most of that is assigned to set purposes, so only $0.46M was unassigned. City of Henderson · Dec 29, 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
- Payroll and net profits tax (occupational license tax)$13.4M · 27%
- Property taxes$9.6M · 19%
- Insurance premium tax$8M · 16%
- Payments in lieu of taxes from city utilities and housing$4.7M · 10%
- Reimbursements from utilities and other funds for shared services$4M · 8%
- Other (interest, franchise and bank taxes, grants, fees and others)$3.4M · 7%
- Drawn from general fund reserves$6.4M · 13%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$10.9M · 22%
- Fire$9.4M · 19%
- Transfers to other funds (bond payments, streets, transit, 911 and others)$8.7M · 18%
- Outside agencies and special projects (non-departmental)$4.1M · 8%
- Information technology$1.8M · 4%
- Parks$1.5M · 3%
- Municipal facilities$1.3M · 3%
- Treasury$1.2M · 2%
- Other (public works, finance, administration, recreation and others)$10.4M · 21%
Who provides your services
Not everything in Henderson is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityHenderson Police DepartmentCity of Henderson · Dec 29, 2025
- FireThe cityHenderson Fire DepartmentCity of Henderson · Dec 29, 2025
- 911 dispatchThe cityCity of Henderson Emergency CommunicationsCity of Henderson · Jun 23, 2026
- Water and sewerAnother agencyHenderson Water UtilityA separate commission appointed by the mayor and approved by the Board of Commissioners, which approves its rates.City of Henderson · Dec 29, 2025
- ElectricityAnother agencyHenderson Municipal Power & LightCity of Henderson · Dec 29, 2025
- Natural gasThe cityCity of Henderson Gas DepartmentCity of Henderson · Dec 29, 2025
- StreetsThe cityCity of Henderson Public WorksCity of Henderson · Dec 29, 2025
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Henderson Parks and RecreationCity of Henderson · Dec 29, 2025
- Public transitThe cityHenderson Area Rapid Transit (HART), a city fundCity of Henderson · Jun 23, 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 | PaducahKY | HendersonKY | FrankfortKY | IndependenceKY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 26,730 | 27,822 | 28,657 | 30,198 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | $161,814 | Not current (2023) | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,941 | $1,776 | $1,925 | $511 |
| Debt per resident | $2,257 | $3,774 | $2,037 | $20 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $2,274 | $1,686 | $1,674 | $323 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 12.9 | 11.7 | — | — |
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 Henderson publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlinePosted minutes record a roll call for each vote, naming how the mayor and each commissioner voted. City of Henderson · Jun 23, 2026
- No: Council pay stated in a public documentWe found no readable document stating the mayor's or commissioners' individual pay. The budget shows $76,645 of salaries for all five together. City of Henderson · Jun 23, 2026
- Partly: Employee pay publishedThe budget publishes pay grades and salary ranges effective July 1, 2026. We found no list of individual employee pay. City of Henderson · Jun 23, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2026-27 general fund budget spends $49.4 million against $43.0 million of projected revenue, drawing $6.4 million from reserves. The city projects gaps of $1.1 million to $1.5 million a year through FY2029-30. How will those gaps close?
- Unassigned general fund balance was $458,251 on June 30, 2025, while most of the $25.3 million general fund balance was assigned to set purposes. How does the Board decide what to assign and when to release it?
- Bonds totaled $105.0 million on June 30, 2025, with part of that repaid by the city's water and electric utilities. How will the general fund's share of future projects be paid for?
- The city's share of state CERS pension liabilities was $42.9 million. How will pension costs fit into future budgets?
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