How Champlin is run
Who runs Champlin, 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 Champlin's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Champlin
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
Champlin city staff
88 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2025. City of Champlin · May 19, 2026
The budget shows spending by department. We found no published pay plan or list of employee pay. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Champlin 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 is balanced, with no planned change in fund balance. Budgeted spending rises $1,387,300, or 7.8%, mainly for pay and benefits, a 31st police officer and a new public works worker. The general levy rises 7.14% to $16,161,000. The budget includes a financial management plan update, but its forecast pages are images we could not read. City of Champlin · Dec 8, 2025
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $8.5M (2025-12-31). The city's own target: Keep year-end unassigned general fund balance at 35% to 45% of the next year's budgeted spending for cash flow, plus 1% to 2% for contingencies. At the end of 2025 the city reported 53% for working capital and 1% for contingencies. The city meets this target. City of Champlin · May 19, 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$14.1M · 73%
- Fiscal disparities (regional tax-base sharing)$2M · 11%
- Charges for services$1.2M · 6%
- Licenses and permits$559,100 · 3%
- Intergovernmental$487,300 · 3%
- Miscellaneous (investment and lease income)$362,800 · 2%
- Transfers in$346,600 · 2%
- Fines$160,000 · 1%
Goes to (FY2026)
- Police$6.6M · 34%
- Transfers to other funds$3.5M · 18%
- Public works$2.9M · 15%
- Parks and recreation$1.4M · 7%
- Fire protection (Anoka-Champlin Fire Department)$926,000 · 5%
- Non-departmental$800,800 · 4%
- Finance$533,000 · 3%
- Other (administration, council, inspections, engineering and more)$2.7M · 14%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Minnesota property taxes are mostly set as a rate on a property's tax capacity. The audited report lists the rates as decimals (0.42081 = 42.081%). This split leaves out voter-approved school levies charged on market value.
42¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Champlin
- City of Champlin39.528 operating plus 2.553 debt service.42.081 · 42%
- Hennepin County and special districtsIncludes Mosquito Control, Met Council, Metro Transit, the regional railroad authority and the West Mississippi watershed.44.403 · 44%
- Anoka-Hennepin School District 1113.598 · 14%
- Total (percent of tax capacity)100.082
2025 tax capacity rates for property in Champlin (Hennepin County, Anoka-Hennepin School District 11). City of Champlin · May 19, 2026
See what a Champlin house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Champlin is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityChamplin Police DepartmentCity of Champlin · Dec 8, 2025
- Fire and emergency responseAnother agencyAnoka-Champlin Fire DepartmentA joint department with the City of Anoka, which runs daily operations. Champlin has a 48% share.City of Champlin · May 19, 2026
- WaterThe cityCity water utilityCity of Champlin · May 19, 2026
- SewerThe cityCity sewer utilityCity of Champlin · May 19, 2026
- Storm waterThe cityCity storm water utilityCity of Champlin · May 19, 2026
- Streets and public worksThe cityCity public worksCity of Champlin · Dec 8, 2025
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of ChamplinCity of Champlin · May 19, 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 | CrystalMN | Columbia HeightsMN | St MichaelMN | ChamplinMN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 22,239 | 22,482 | 22,498 | 23,125 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not current (2023) | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | $8,170 | $10,800 | Not confirmed | $8,295 |
| General fund per resident | $1,180 | $929 | $535 | $835 |
| Debt per resident | $323 | $1,250 | $606 | $638 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $262 | $289 | $51 | $195 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 4.4 | — | 1.5 | 3.8 |
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). St Michael and Champlin pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Champlin 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 Champlin · Oct 10, 2026
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineThe council approved the administrator's contract on March 24, 2025, but the packet did not include it. We found no posted copy. City of Champlin · Mar 24, 2025
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineMinutes name who moved and seconded each motion and list each member voting in favor and against. City of Champlin · Mar 24, 2025
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineCouncil meetings are live-streamed and available for replay. Agendas, packets and minutes are posted online. City of Champlin · Oct 10, 2026
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentAn October 28, 2024 council report states pay of $10,883 for the mayor and $8,295 for council members from 2025. City of Champlin · Oct 28, 2024
- No: Employee pay publishedThe budget shows spending by department. We found no posted pay plan or list of employee pay on the finance pages. City of Champlin · Oct 10, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- Unassigned general fund balance was $8,492,059 at the end of 2025, which the city reports as 53% of next year's budget for working capital, above its 35% to 45% target. What does the council plan to do with the amount above the target?
- General fund revenue exceeded spending by $4,988,193 in 2025, and $3,431,900 went to other funds. How are those transfers split between capital equipment, streets and parks?
- The 2026 general levy rises 7.14% to $16,161,000, with a 31st police officer and a new public works worker. How will the compensation study funded in 2026 affect future levies?
- The city's share of PERA pension liabilities was $4,520,429 at the 2025 measurement date, compared with $14,765,000 in bonds. How do pension costs figure in the long-term financial plan?
Help decide what comes next
What do you want to know about Champlin next?
One tap, no sign-in. We count answers; we never show who chose what.
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?
See something wrong? Report an error
Something wrong or missing? Tell us what and where, with a link to a source if you have one. Reports feed the next verification run.