How Zachary is run
Who runs Zachary, 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 Zachary's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Zachary
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
Zachary city staff
The posted budget summary gives no headcount or payroll, and the city does not publish individual salaries. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Zachary 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: $16.3M (2025-06-30). City of Zachary · 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 FY2025-26.
Comes from
- Taxes (mostly sales tax)$14.1M · 66%
- Charges for services (incl. garbage fees)$2.4M · 12%
- Commissions$1.7M · 8%
- Miscellaneous$1.1M · 5%
- Intergovernmental$912,400 · 4%
- Licenses and permits$739,000 · 3%
- Other (fines)$275,000 · 1%
Goes to (FY2025-26)
- Police$6.6M · 31%
- Fire$6.4M · 30%
- Administration$3.5M · 16%
- Sanitation$2.3M · 11%
- Streets$1.2M · 5%
- Recreation$562,300 · 3%
- City court$561,600 · 3%
- Other (inspections and museum)$280,300 · 1%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
The city's own levy is about 4% of the total rate. The school district and parish agencies levy the rest.
4¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Zachary
- Zachary Community Schools70.2 · 56%
- BREC (parish parks)14.46 · 11%
- Special law enforcement (three levies)14.99 · 12%
- Library9.89 · 8%
- City of Zachary5.07 · 4%
- East Baton Rouge Parish2.96 · 2%
- Emergency Medical Services2.94 · 2%
- Council on Aging2 · 2%
- Mosquito abatement1.41 · 1%
- Mental health center (parish)1.33 · 1%
- Assessor1.15 · <1%
- Total (mills)126.4
Property tax rates for a home in the city of Zachary (East Baton Rouge Parish), as listed by the city. City of Zachary
Who provides your services
Not everything in Zachary is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityZachary Police DepartmentLed by an elected chief of police.City of Zachary
- FireThe cityZachary Fire DepartmentOperates from four stations.City of Zachary
- WaterThe cityCity of Zachary utilitiesCity of Zachary
- SewerThe cityCity of Zachary utilitiesCity of Zachary
- StreetsThe cityCity of ZacharyCity of Zachary · Dec 29, 2025
- Youth sports parkThe cityCity of Zachary (Zachary Youth Park)City of Zachary
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 | YoungsvilleLA | ZacharyLA | RustonLA | HammondLA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 19,980 | 20,621 | 22,397 | 24,032 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $102,285 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | $80,000 |
| Council member pay | $15,476 | $10,414 | $13,765 | $12,000 |
| General fund per resident | $445 | $1,031 | $1,643 | $1,845 |
| Debt per resident | $3,308 | $908 | $3,264 | $279 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $251 | $788 | $896 | $1,427 |
| 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 Zachary publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineZachary has no city manager. We found no posted contract or salary for the Chief Administrative Officer. City of Zachary
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineCouncil minutes list each member's yes or no vote by name. Zachary City Council
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe audit lists the pay of each council member. City of Zachary · Dec 29, 2025
- No: Employee pay publishedThe posted budget summary shows department totals only, with no payroll or salary detail. City of Zachary
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2026-27 budget was adopted on June 9, 2026. When will the full budget document be posted online?
- In FY2024-25 the general fund spent $26.7 million against $23.9 million of revenue. Which capital projects drove the gap?
The fiscal year starts July 1. The mayor must submit the proposed budget at least 45 days before then, the council holds a public hearing, and the budget is adopted by ordinance before the year begins. The FY2026-27 budget was adopted on June 9, 2026. See who is running for council
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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