How Alexandria is run
Who runs Alexandria, 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 Alexandria's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Alexandria
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
Alexandria city staff
The budget sets authorized positions for each department by ordinance, but does not publish individual salaries. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Alexandria 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 plans to use $11.5 million of general fund balance. The mayor's budget message predicts flat sales taxes and calls the likelihood of property tax renewal substantially low. Transfers from the utility system to the general fund were eliminated for the year to ease cash demands on the utility system. City of Alexandria · Apr 21, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $40.2M (2025-04-30). The city's own target: A council budget policy sets general fund balance at 7% of total revenues with a goal of 10%. The budget says the 10% goal has been met since FY1993-94. City of Alexandria · Oct 31, 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
- Taxes (mostly sales tax)$39.6M · 56%
- From savings (fund balance)$11.6M · 16%
- Intergovernmental$10.9M · 16%
- Transfers from other funds$4.7M · 7%
- Licenses and permits$2.9M · 4%
- Other (investment income, fines, charges)$507,000 · 1%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Public safety$35.5M · 51%
- Public works$11.9M · 17%
- Finance$5.9M · 8%
- Community services$5M · 7%
- Legal$2.8M · 4%
- Transfers to other funds$2.4M · 3%
- Executive$2M · 3%
- Other (judicial, planning, legislative, human resources, civil service)$4.7M · 7%
Who provides your services
Not everything in Alexandria is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityAlexandria Police DepartmentCity of Alexandria · Oct 31, 2025
- FireThe cityAlexandria Fire DepartmentCity of Alexandria · Oct 31, 2025
- ElectricityThe cityCity utility systemCity of Alexandria · Oct 31, 2025
- Natural gasThe cityCity utility systemCity of Alexandria · Oct 31, 2025
- WaterThe cityCity utility systemCity of Alexandria · Oct 31, 2025
- SewerThe cityCity utility systemCity of Alexandria · Oct 31, 2025
- TrashThe cityCity sanitationCity of Alexandria · Oct 31, 2025
- Streets and drainageThe cityCity public worksCity of Alexandria · Oct 31, 2025
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity community servicesCity of Alexandria · Oct 31, 2025
- Public transitThe cityCity transit system (ATRANS)City of Alexandria · Apr 21, 2026
- ZooThe cityCity-run Alexandria Zoological ParkCity of Alexandria · Apr 21, 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 | ZacharyLA | RustonLA | HammondLA | AlexandriaLA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 20,621 | 22,397 | 24,032 | 42,938 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | $80,000 | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | $10,414 | $13,765 | $12,000 | $25,200 |
| General fund per resident | $1,031 | $1,643 | $1,845 | $1,636 |
| Debt per resident | $908 | $3,264 | $279 | $3,375 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $788 | $896 | $1,427 | $803 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | — | — | 13.5 | — |
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 Alexandria 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 Alexandria · Apr 21, 2026
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineAlexandria has no city manager. We found no posted contract or salary for the Chief of Staff in the budget or audit. City of Alexandria · Apr 21, 2026
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlinePosted council minutes list each member's yes or no vote by name. Alexandria City Council
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineThe city website posts council meeting videos and council minutes as PDFs. City of Alexandria
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe audit lists the pay of each council member for the year ended April 30, 2025. City of Alexandria · Oct 31, 2025
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2026-27 budget plans to use $11.5 million of general fund balance, after unassigned reserves of $40.2 million at April 30, 2025. How many years can the city keep drawing at that rate?
- In FY2024-25 general fund spending was $9.6 million more than revenue. What changes would close that gap?
- The FY2026-27 budget ends the utility system's transfer to the general fund, and the budget is $70.2 million. How will the general fund replace that money in later years?
- The city's net pension liability was $34.5 million at April 30, 2025. How is the city planning for these costs?
The fiscal year starts May 1. The mayor submits the proposed budget at least 45 days before the year begins, the council holds a public hearing, and the charter requires adoption by April 27. For FY2026-27 the budget ordinance was introduced March 24, 2026 and adopted April 21, 2026. See who is running for council
Help decide what comes next
What do you want to know about Alexandria next?
One tap, no sign-in. We count answers; we never show who chose what.
Every number here was checked by hand against the linked document. Cities publish on different schedules, so years differ between sections; each figure says which year it describes. Spotted something wrong or out of date?
See something wrong? Report an error
Something wrong or missing? Tell us what and where, with a link to a source if you have one. Reports feed the next verification run.