How Louisville is run
Who runs Louisville, 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 Louisville's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Louisville
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
Louisville city staff
5,898 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police (LMPD) 1,438, Corrections 443, Louisville Fire 492. 2026-04-01. Filled positions on April 1, 2026: 5,446 full-time, 231 part-time and 221 seasonal or other. Up from 5,752 a year earlier. Louisville Metro · Sep 1, 2026
Louisville Metro publishes every employee's name, title and pay in its open salary data, updated through 2026. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Louisville 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 budget says Metro has made progress toward a structurally balanced budget by matching pay growth to projected revenue growth, and it projects unassigned general fund balance of $92.5M on June 30, 2026 and $93.0M on June 30, 2027. Louisville Metro · Sep 1, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $92M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep the unrestricted general fund balance (the Financial Stabilization Fund) between one and two months of average budgeted general fund spending, raising revenue or cutting spending as needed to keep or refill it at that level. The city meets this target. Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government: FY2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, transmittal letter p. 7 and Balance Sheet, Governmental Funds · Dec 19, 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 license taxes (payroll withholding, net profits, insurance premiums), net of collection costs$547M · 59%
- Property taxes$234M · 25%
- Louisville Water Company dividend$37M · 4%
- Licenses and permits$33.3M · 4%
- Charges for services (mostly EMS)$27.1M · 3%
- State and other governments$21.8M · 2%
- Interest and rents$17.7M · 2%
- Other (fines)$1.6M · 0%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police (Louisville Metro Police Department)$259M · 28%
- Fire (Louisville Fire, Urban Services District)$82.4M · 9%
- Department of Corrections (jail)$64.4M · 7%
- Facilities and Fleet Management$58.4M · 6%
- Public Works and Assets (streets, trash)$58.3M · 6%
- Emergency Services (EMS, MetroSafe 911)$52.8M · 6%
- Office of Management and Budget (incl. debt payments)$46.8M · 5%
- Metro Technology Services$34.6M · 4%
- Other (parks, health, library, county offices, council, mayor and more)$269M · 29%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
The audited report lists these three rates. All Jefferson County property pays the Metro countywide rate; the Urban Services District rate is added inside the former city of Louisville. Of the $1.208 total, about 36 cents per dollar goes to Metro and 64 cents to the school district.
36¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Louisville
- Jefferson County Public Schools0.768 · 64%
- Louisville Metro, Urban Services District ratePaid only inside the Urban Services District0.319 · 26%
- Louisville Metro, countywide rate0.121 · 10%
- Total ($ per $100 of assessed value)1.208
FY2025 real property tax rates for a home in the Urban Services District (former city of Louisville). Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government: FY2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Statistical Section, Property Tax Rates - Direct and Overlapping Governments, p. 183 · Dec 19, 2025
See what a Louisville home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Louisville is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityLouisville Metro Police DepartmentLouisville/Jefferson County Metro Government: FY2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, profile, p. 8 · Dec 19, 2025
- FireThe cityLouisville Fire (Urban Services District)Serves the Urban Services DistrictLouisville Metro · Sep 1, 2026
- EMS / ambulanceThe cityLouisville Metro Emergency ServicesLouisville Metro · Sep 1, 2026
- 911 dispatchThe cityLouisville Metro Emergency Services (MetroSafe)Louisville Metro · Sep 1, 2026
- WaterAnother agencyLouisville Water CompanyA separate company; Metro is the sole shareholderLouisville/Jefferson County Metro Government: FY2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Note 1, p. 59 · Dec 19, 2025
- SewerSeparate districtLouisville and Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD)Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government: FY2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Note 1, p. 60 · Dec 19, 2025
- Trash collectionThe cityLouisville Metro Public Works, Solid Waste Management ServicesLouisville Metro · Sep 1, 2026
- LibraryThe cityLouisville Free Public Library (Metro department)Louisville Metro · Sep 1, 2026
- ParksThe cityLouisville Parks & RecreationLouisville Metro · Sep 1, 2026
- StreetsThe cityLouisville Metro Public WorksLouisville Metro · Sep 1, 2026
- Public transitAnother agencyTransit Authority of River City (TARC)Funded partly by occupational tax through Metro's Mass Transit Trust FundLouisville/Jefferson County Metro Government: FY2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Note 1, p. 60 · Dec 19, 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 | OwensboroKY | Bowling GreenKY | LexingtonKY | LouisvilleKY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 60,892 | 78,505 | 329,751 | 641,962 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | $202,701 |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not current (2023) | Not confirmed | $59,372 |
| General fund per resident | $1,316 | $1,403 | $1,658 | $1,443 |
| Debt per resident | $2,125 | $883 | $1,630 | $1,098 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $1,349 | $1,289 | $1,959 | $1,476 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 7.2 | 7.1 | 9.3 | 9.2 |
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 Louisville publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe 2026-2027 Louisville Metro Approved Executive Budget, with council-approved amounts, is posted on the city's website. Louisville Metro · Sep 1, 2026
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member online Louisville Metro Council · Jun 25, 2026
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public document Louisville Metro Open Data · Oct 10, 2026
- Yes: Employee pay publishedThe city's open salary data lists employees by name with job title and pay rate, including 2026 figures. Louisville Metro Open Data · Oct 10, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $92.0 million on June 30, 2025, and the budget projects $93.0 million by June 30, 2027. Is one to two months of spending still the right target for a $926.3 million general fund?
- Occupational license taxes are budgeted to bring in about $546.5 million in FY2026-27, more than half of general fund revenue. How would the budget respond if payroll withholding collections slow?
- Police are budgeted at $259.4 million of the $926.3 million FY2026-27 general fund. How will the council judge results from that spending?
The fiscal year starts July 1. The mayor must propose a budget by May 1 (the proposal letter is dated April 24, 2026). The council holds department budget hearings in May and June and must pass a budget by July 1; it passed the FY2027 operating budget 22-3, with one abstention, on June 25, 2026. See who is running for council
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