How Crowley is run
Who runs Crowley, 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 Crowley's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Crowley
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
Crowley city staff
The budget shows salary and fringe totals by department but no position count or individual pay. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Crowley 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: $1.3M (2025-08-31). City of Crowley · Feb 24, 2026
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
- Transfers in from other funds$7.6M · 53%
- Property taxes (ad valorem)$2.5M · 17%
- Franchise taxes$1M · 7%
- Intergovernmental$798,830 · 6%
- Grants$650,000 · 5%
- Other (licenses and permits, fines and fees, charges, interest, rentals and other)$1.3M · 9%
- From savings (fund balance)$594,113 · 4%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$5.1M · 35%
- Fire$4M · 28%
- Streets and non-departmental$1.9M · 13%
- General administration$1.4M · 10%
- Public buildings and drainage$699,281 · 5%
- Code enforcement$621,902 · 4%
- City court$385,074 · 3%
- Transfers out to other funds$237,600 · 2%
Who provides your services
Not everything in Crowley is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityCrowley Police DepartmentCity of Crowley · Feb 24, 2026
- FireThe cityCrowley Fire DepartmentCity of Crowley · Feb 24, 2026
- SewerThe cityCity of Crowley (sewer utility fund)City of Crowley · Feb 24, 2026
- Streets and drainageThe cityCity of Crowley Public WorksCity of Crowley · Feb 24, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Crowley Parks and RecreationCity of Crowley · Feb 24, 2026
- Planning and zoningThe cityCity of CrowleyCity of Crowley · Feb 24, 2026
- CemeteryThe cityCity of Crowley Public WorksThe city owns a cemetery in South Crowley.City of Crowley
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 | MindenLA | CrowleyLA | CovingtonLA | ThibodauxLA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 11,103 | 11,223 | 11,721 | 15,573 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | $105,324 |
| Council member pay | $13,104 | $10,455 | $10,800 | $12,749 |
| General fund per resident | $1,985 | $1,284 | $2,080 | $2,157 |
| Debt per resident | $140 | $1,873 | $542 | $612 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $817 | $753 | $1,016 | $930 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | — | — | 14.0 | — |
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). Thibodaux pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Crowley publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Partly: Adopted budget posted online Crowley Board of Aldermen · Aug 18, 2026
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineCrowley has no city manager. It has a mayor-council government under the Lawrason Act. City of Crowley · Feb 24, 2026
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineCouncil minutes list each member's yea or nay vote by name. Crowley Board of Aldermen · Aug 18, 2026
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe audit lists pay received by each council member and the mayor. City of Crowley · Feb 24, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- General fund spending was $15.9 million in FY2024-25, more than double its $7.5 million in revenue, with $8.4 million in transfers covering most of the gap. How long can transfers from sales tax funds keep the general fund balanced?
- The city owed $21.0 million in bond principal on August 31, 2025, including $19.1 million of governmental revenue bonds. How will repayments fit future budgets?
Help decide what comes next
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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?
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