How Niles is run
Who runs Niles, 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 Niles's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Niles
Niles has a council-manager government. The mayor and eight council members are elected by voters, and the council appoints a city administrator to manage the city day to day. The council adopts the budget, sets taxes and passes ordinances.
What they are paid
Niles city staff
The budget describes staffing by department, such as 21 certified police officers and nine full-time firefighters, but states no citywide head count. We found no list of pay by position. Michigan has no statewide pay database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Niles 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: $8.8M (2025-09-30). City of Niles · Feb 26, 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$3.7M · 35%
- Charges for service$3.2M · 29%
- State shared revenue and grants$2.4M · 22%
- Transfers in from other funds$1M · 10%
- Interest$300,000 · 3%
- Other (licenses, fines, contributions, miscellaneous)$181,500 · 2%
Goes to (FY2026)
- Police (including 911 dispatch)$4M · 38%
- Streets and engineering$2.2M · 20%
- Fire$1.7M · 16%
- Administration (council, administrator, clerk, treasurer, assessor, legal, management services)$1.2M · 12%
- Buildings, parks, sanitation and trees$945,587 · 9%
- Community development and Niles History Center$319,598 · 3%
- Other (insurance, miscellaneous, emergency operations)$263,956 · 2%
Who provides your services
Not everything in Niles is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityNiles Police DepartmentCity of Niles · Aug 1, 2025
- FireThe cityNiles Fire DepartmentThree shifts of three full-time firefighters, backed by part-time and on-call members.City of Niles · Aug 1, 2025
- 911 dispatchThe cityNiles Police Department Communications BureauSeven dispatchers take all 911 calls and dispatch police and fire.City of Niles · Aug 1, 2025
- ElectricityThe cityCity of Niles Utilities Department, Electric DivisionCity of Niles · Aug 1, 2025
- WaterThe cityCity of Niles Utilities Department, Water DivisionCity of Niles · Feb 26, 2026
- Sewer and wastewater treatmentThe cityCity of Niles Utilities Department, Wastewater DivisionCity of Niles · Feb 26, 2026
- StreetsThe cityCity of Niles Department of Public WorksAbout 70 miles of streets.City of Niles · Aug 1, 2025
- ParksThe cityCity of Niles Department of Public WorksCity of Niles · Aug 1, 2025
- Public transit (Dial-A-Ride)The cityCity of Niles DARTFunded in part by a voter-approved half-mill levy in Niles.City of Niles · Aug 1, 2025
- AirportThe cityJerry Tyler Memorial Airport (city-owned)City of Niles · Aug 1, 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 | SturgisMI | NilesMI | WoodhavenMI | Sault Ste MarieMI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 10,900 | 11,665 | 12,503 | 13,083 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | $128,000 |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,129 | $906 | $1,485 | $1,283 |
| Debt per resident | $857 | $368 | $360 | $1,729 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $-447 | $1,436 | $340 | $2,064 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | — | — | — | — |
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 Niles 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 onlineMinutes record contract extensions and raises as percentages. We found no posted contract stating the administrator's salary. City of Niles · Sep 14, 2026
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlinePosted minutes list each roll call vote by member name. City of Niles · Aug 24, 2026
- Partly: Council pay stated in a public documentThe budget shows $50,400 in part-time council salaries in total, but not the pay per member or for the mayor. City of Niles · Aug 1, 2025
- No: Employee pay publishedThe budget shows wage totals by department. We found no pay list by position. City of Niles · Aug 1, 2025
Questions to ask your council
- The audit shows $8.8 million of unassigned general fund balance, but the city has no written minimum reserve. Will the council adopt a reserve policy?
- The MERS pension plan was 66.91% funded with a $16.8 million net liability. How will the city pay for rising contributions?
- Police is the largest general fund line at $3.98 million in FY2026. How will the city pay for its planned police staffing in later years?
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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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