How St. Matthews is run
Who runs St. Matthews, 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 St. Matthews's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs St. Matthews
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
St. Matthews city staff
The city posts no pay schedule, staff count or individual pay. Its public works crew is fifteen full-time employees. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is St. Matthews 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: $20.5M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: We found no written reserve target. On June 30, 2025 the city also held $9.36M of assigned fund balance, and the FY2026-27 budget plans to draw $10.03M of general fund reserves. City of St. Matthews · Dec 10, 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 (payroll and net profits) tax$10.5M · 35%
- Drawn from general fund reserves$10M · 34%
- Property taxes$4M · 13%
- Insurance premiums tax$2.6M · 9%
- Interest income$750,000 · 3%
- Business licenses$525,000 · 2%
- Other (franchises, bank tax, grants, fees, rents)$1.5M · 5%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$12.1M · 40%
- Parks$8.7M · 29%
- Public works$6.1M · 20%
- Administration$2M · 7%
- IT department$807,880 · 3%
- Other (Arterburn building, rental property)$174,657 · 1%
Who provides your services
Not everything in St. Matthews is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe citySt. Matthews Police DepartmentFY2025 audited financial statements, Note 1
- Fire protectionSeparate districtSt. Matthews Fire Protection District (St. Matthews Fire & EMS)St. Matthews Fire & EMS home page
- Ambulance (EMS)Separate districtSt. Matthews Fire Protection District (St. Matthews Fire & EMS)St. Matthews Fire & EMS
- Sanitary sewersSeparate districtLouisville Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD)City of St. Matthews
- Streets, parks and city buildingsThe citySt. Matthews Public Works DepartmentCity of St. Matthews
- Animal controlThe countyLouisville Metro Animal ServicesCity of St. Matthews
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 | Fort ThomasKY | DanvilleKY | St MatthewsKY | MurrayKY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 17,142 | 17,736 | 17,868 | 18,964 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not current (2022) | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not current (2019) | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,338 | $1,530 | $1,673 | $1,381 |
| Debt per resident | $492 | $3,751 | $17 | $2,832 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $1,120 | $1,555 | $652 | $1,163 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | — | — | — | 9.4 |
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 St. Matthews publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Partly: Adopted budget posted online City of St. Matthews · Jun 23, 2026
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineSt. Matthews has no city manager or administrator. We found no contract or pay document for the City Clerk. City of St. Matthews
- No: Council pay stated in a public documentWe found no posted ordinance or budget line stating council or mayor pay on the city's website. City of St. Matthews
- No: Employee pay publishedThe finance page posts the audit, budget, tax ordinance and quarterly report, but no pay schedule or staff pay. City of St. Matthews
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2026-27 budget plans to draw $10.03 million of general fund reserves and puts $8.69 million into parks. Which projects will that money pay for?
- Occupational tax is budgeted at $10.5 million of the $29.89 million in general fund resources for FY2026-27. How would a slowdown in local jobs affect the budget?
- The city's share of the CERS pension shortfall is $11.7 million, and the hazardous plan was 57.05% funded. How does the budget plan for pension costs?
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