How Marquette is run
Who runs Marquette, 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 Marquette's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Marquette
Marquette has a commission-manager government. A seven-member city commission, elected at large, sets policy and approves the budget, and it appoints the city manager and the city attorney. The city manager makes all other administrative appointments.
What they are paid
- Contract runs to Sept. 30, 2028 after the 2025 extension
- Tuition reimbursement clause added in 2024
Marquette city staff
188 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police officers 34, Public works 29, Administration 29, Firefighters 26. 2025-09-30. Full-time equivalent employees at Sept. 30, 2025, including 12 at the library. Up from 184 a year earlier. City of Marquette · Mar 27, 2026
The audit lists staff counts by function. We found no list of pay by position or employee. Michigan has no statewide pay database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Marquette 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 city says its revenues do not grow as fast as wages, retirement and other costs, so the FY2027 proposed budget defers or phases some spending. The audit says the city expects to draw down fund balance in coming years to pay for capital projects. City of Marquette · Sep 1, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $8.3M (2025-09-30). The city's own target: A 2010 commission policy says unrestricted general fund balance should be no less than 16% and no more than 49% of the general fund's adopted expenditures. City of Marquette · Mar 27, 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.
Comes from
- Taxes$18M · 68%
- State revenue sharing$3.6M · 13%
- Charges for services$2.9M · 11%
- Other financing sources (transfers in)$1.7M · 6%
- Other (permits, fines, interest and rents, grants, miscellaneous)$467,810 · 2%
Goes to (FY2026)
- Police$6.3M · 24%
- Transfers to other funds$4.4M · 17%
- Public works$4.3M · 16%
- Fire$4.1M · 16%
- General government (commission, manager, finance, clerk, treasurer, assessing, elections, attorney, HR, buildings)$3.7M · 14%
- Engineering$1.7M · 6%
- Planning and zoning$862,360 · 3%
- Parks, recreation, arts and culture$848,960 · 3%
- Other (cemetery, rental inspection, waterfront safety)$414,860 · 2%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Of the rates in the city's audit table, about 55 cents of each property-tax dollar goes to the city. The table does not list every levy, such as the state education tax.
55¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Marquette
- City of Marquette (general fund, senior services, library, debt)19.7576 · 55%
- Marquette County (incl. intermediate school district, special education, transit, medical care facility)9.145 · 25%
- Marquette Area Public Schools7.314 · 20%
- Total (mills)36.2166
FY2025 rates for property in the city of Marquette (Marquette County), from the city's audit. City of Marquette · Mar 27, 2026
See what a Marquette home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Marquette is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityMarquette Police DepartmentCity of Marquette · Mar 27, 2026
- FireThe cityMarquette Fire DepartmentCity of Marquette · Mar 27, 2026
- WaterThe cityCity of Marquette (water fund)City of Marquette · Mar 27, 2026
- SewerThe cityCity of Marquette (sewer fund)City of Marquette · Mar 27, 2026
- StormwaterThe cityCity of Marquette (stormwater utility)City of Marquette · Mar 27, 2026
- Trash and recyclingThe cityCity of MarquetteCity of Marquette · Mar 27, 2026
- City streetsThe cityCity of MarquetteCity of Marquette · Mar 27, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of MarquetteCity of Marquette · Mar 27, 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 | WayneMI | Mount PleasantMI | MarquetteMI | Port HuronMI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 17,065 | 20,925 | 21,944 | 28,273 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | Not current (2021) | $137,891 | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | $2,500 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,396 | $978 | $1,210 | $1,548 |
| Debt per resident | $504 | $920 | $1,438 | $3,394 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $3,522 | $924 | $1,759 | $1,463 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | — | 5.3 | 8.6 | 9.0 |
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).
What Marquette publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Partly: Adopted budget posted onlineThe FY2026 adopted budget is posted. For FY2027, only the proposed budget was posted when we checked. City of Marquette
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineMeeting packets describe yearly raises as percentages. We found no posted contract or amendment stating the salary. City of Marquette · Sep 29, 2025
- No: Council pay stated in a public documentWe found no posted document that states commissioners' or the mayor's pay. City of Marquette
- No: Employee pay publishedThe audit gives staff counts by function. We found no pay list by position on the budget page. City of Marquette
Questions to ask your council
- Pension plans had $38.6 million in unfunded liabilities. Will the city pay more than required to close the gap?
The fiscal year starts Oct. 1. The charter calls for the proposed budget at the second July commission meeting, followed by public hearings, and the commission must adopt the budget by Sept. 30. The FY2026 budget was adopted Sept. 29, 2025. See who is running for council
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