How Andover is run
Who runs Andover, 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 Andover's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Andover
A city manager hired by the council runs the city day to day. The council sets policy, adopts the budget and sets the tax rate.
What they are paid
Andover city staff
67 full-time-equivalent positions, including General fund 46, Water, sewer and storm sewer 11. FY2026. City of Andover · Dec 2, 2025
The budget shows staff counts and spending by department. We found no city-published pay list for individual employees. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Andover 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 2026 general fund budget plans $16.2 million in revenue against $16.7 million in spending, a $542,210 draw on reserves. The city's five-year projection shows smaller draws each year until revenue passes spending in 2031. City of Andover · Dec 2, 2025
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $14.1M (2025-12-31). The city's own target: Keep unassigned general fund balance equal to six months of the current year's budgeted spending, to cover cash needs between the July and December property tax payments. City of Andover · Jun 2, 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
- Property taxes$12.8M · 79%
- Charges for services$1.1M · 7%
- State and county aid$963,675 · 6%
- Licenses and permits$768,300 · 5%
- Transfers in$185,035 · 1%
- Interest income$185,000 · 1%
- Other (fines and miscellaneous)$185,500 · 1%
Goes to (FY2026)
- Police (Anoka County Sheriff contract)$4.2M · 25%
- Fire$2.6M · 16%
- Parks and recreation$1.9M · 12%
- Streets and highways$1.2M · 7%
- Snow and ice removal$927,172 · 6%
- Engineering$870,604 · 5%
- Facility management$817,758 · 5%
- Building inspections$671,886 · 4%
- Other (administration, finance, planning, clerk, legal and other)$3.5M · 21%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Minnesota property taxes are mostly set as a rate on a property's tax capacity. This split leaves out voter-approved school levies charged on market value.
44¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Andover
- City of AndoverOperating 27.667%, debt service 8.722% and the Lower Rum River watershed levy 0.191%.36.58 · 44%
- Anoka County30.245 · 36%
- School district13.598 · 16%
- Other districts3.107 · 4%
- Total (percent of tax capacity)83.53
Taxes payable 2025 tax capacity rates for property in Andover (Anoka County). City of Andover · Jun 2, 2026
See what a Andover home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Andover is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe countyAnoka County Sheriff's Office, under contractThe 2026 contract pays for 72 hours of daily patrol service.City of Andover · Dec 2, 2025
- Fire and emergency medical callsThe cityAndover Fire Department (paid-on-call firefighters)City of Andover · Dec 2, 2025
- WaterThe cityCity water utilityCity of Andover · Dec 2, 2025
- Sewer collectionThe cityCity sewer utilityCity of Andover · Dec 2, 2025
- Streets and snow removalThe cityCity of AndoverCity of Andover · Jun 2, 2026
- Storm sewersThe cityCity of AndoverCity of Andover · Jun 2, 2026
- Parks and community centerThe cityCity of AndoverCity of Andover · Jun 2, 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 | RosemountMN | SavageMN | AndoverMN | RosevilleMN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 31,881 | 32,970 | 33,874 | 35,663 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | $196,997 | Not confirmed | $226,580 |
| Council member pay | $7,900 | Not confirmed | Not current (2019) | $8,220 |
| General fund per resident | $696 | $801 | $494 | $834 |
| Debt per resident | $3,466 | $942 | $1,238 | $309 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $181 | $226 | $66 | $342 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 3.5 | 4.5 | 2.0 | 6.7 |
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). Andover pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Andover publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted online City of Andover · Dec 2, 2025
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineCity code says the administrator serves under an employment contract. We did not find it on the city website or document portal. Andover City Code, Title 1 Administration (Chapter 6) · Sep 18, 2018
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentCity code sets the mayor's salary at $12,000 a year and each council member's at $10,000. Andover City Code, Title 1 Administration (Chapter 6) · Sep 18, 2018
Questions to ask your council
- The 2026 general fund budget is $16.7 million. Police, provided under the Anoka County Sheriff's contract, take $4.2 million of it. What service levels does that contract buy?
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $14.1 million at the end of 2025. The city's policy target is six months of budgeted spending. How should any amount above that be used?
- The city owed $41.9 million in bonds at the end of 2025. How much more borrowing does the capital plan expect?
- The 2026 general fund budget plans $16.2 million in revenue against $16.7 million in spending. How long does the city expect to draw on reserves?
The fiscal year starts January 1. The council holds budget workshops from March through August. It adopts the preliminary levy in early September (September 2, 2025), holds the Truth in Taxation public hearing in early December, and adopts the final budget and levy the same night (December 2, 2025). See who is running for council
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