How Mt. Pleasant is run
Who runs Mt. Pleasant, 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 Mt. Pleasant's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Mt. Pleasant
Mt. Pleasant has a commission-manager government. A seven-member city commission, including the mayor and vice mayor, passes ordinances and adopts the budget. It hires the city manager, who runs day-to-day operations and appoints department heads, and also hires the clerk, assessor, treasurer and attorney.
What they are paid
- Severance of 12 months' pay if dismissed without cause (raised from 6 months in January 2026)
- City adds 4% of salary to his deferred compensation account
- 15 days' vacation to start, rising to 20 after six years and 25 after twelve
- City-provided laptop, home internet and mobile phone
- Pay is in addition to reimbursement of expenses for city business
Mt. Pleasant city staff
111 full-time-equivalent positions. 2024-12-31. City of Mt. Pleasant · Jul 31, 2025
The budget shows total compensation and staffing for each city activity. 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 Mt. Pleasant 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
In 2025, consultants projected general fund revenue growing 2.4% a year and spending 3.4% a year over the next 10 years. The FY2026 budget uses nearly $2 million of general fund balance and projects unassigned fund balance of $7.2 million, about 30% of annual expenses, at the end of 2026. City of Mt. Pleasant · Nov 24, 2025
Savings
Unassigned general fund balance: $11.2M (2024-12-31). City of Mt. Pleasant · Jul 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.
Comes from
- Property taxes$8.9M · 44%
- State and federal aid (revenue sharing, grants, marijuana tax)$5.7M · 28%
- Charges for services (incl. township fire protection)$2M · 10%
- Payments from other city funds$1.3M · 6%
- Licenses and permits$525,800 · 3%
- Interest$454,750 · 2%
- Donations (incl. tribal 2% allocation)$293,700 · 1%
- Other (reimbursements, fines, miscellaneous)$225,200 · 1%
- From savings (fund balance)$1.1M · 5%
Goes to (FY2026)
- Public safety (police, fire)$7.9M · 38%
- Community services (parks, recreation, planning, building safety)$7.1M · 35%
- Finance (finance, clerk, assessing, treasurer, IT)$2.8M · 14%
- Legislative (commission, city manager, attorney, HR)$1.6M · 8%
- Public works$1.1M · 5%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Of each property-tax dollar a Mt. Pleasant homeowner pays, about 37 cents goes to the city. Rental and business property also pays 18 mills of school operating tax, for 62.2435 mills in all.
37¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Mt. Pleasant
- City of Mt. Pleasant16.25 · 37%
- Isabella County (operating, parks, commission on aging, medical care facility)8.96 · 20%
- State Education Tax6 · 14%
- Gratiot-Isabella RESD (special education, vocational education, operating)5.464 · 12%
- Mt. Pleasant Public Schools (debt)3.74 · 8%
- Chippewa River District Library1.75 · 4%
- Mid Michigan College1.2175 · 3%
- I-Ride transit0.862 · 2%
- Total (mills)44.2435
2025 tax year rates for a home (principal residence) in the city of Mt. Pleasant (Isabella County). City of Mt. Pleasant · Nov 24, 2025
See what a Mt. Pleasant house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Mt. Pleasant is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityMt. Pleasant Police DepartmentCity of Mt. Pleasant · Jul 31, 2025
- FireThe cityMt. Pleasant Fire DepartmentCity of Mt. Pleasant · Jul 31, 2025
- WaterThe cityCity of Mt. Pleasant (water fund)City of Mt. Pleasant · Jul 31, 2025
- City streetsThe cityCity of Mt. Pleasant Public WorksCity of Mt. Pleasant · Jul 31, 2025
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Mt. PleasantCity of Mt. Pleasant · Jul 31, 2025
- AirportThe cityMt. Pleasant Regional Airport (city-owned)City of Mt. Pleasant · Nov 24, 2025
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 Mt. Pleasant publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe 2026 Approved Operating Budget is posted on the finance page; the adopting resolution is in the Nov. 24, 2025 minutes. City of Mt. Pleasant
- Yes: City manager's contract findable online City of Mt. Pleasant
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineCommission minutes list ayes and nays by name when a vote is split, e.g. the January 2026 manager raise. City of Mt. Pleasant
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentA 2023 resolution sets yearly pay through 2028: $3,000 for the mayor and $2,500 for commissioners in 2026. City of Mt. Pleasant
- Partly: Employee pay published City of Mt. Pleasant · Nov 24, 2025
Questions to ask your council
- Consultants project general fund spending growing 3.4% a year against 2.4% for revenue. What changes will close that gap?
- The manager's 2021 contract set pay at $129,000, and the commission has since approved raises of 9.8%, 4.5% and 5%. Will the city publish the current salary?
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