How Dayton is run
Who runs Dayton, 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 Dayton's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Dayton
Dayton is a statutory Plan A city governed by an elected mayor and four council members. A City Administrator handles day-to-day management of all departments and carries out council policy. One council seat is vacant after Council Member Stephanie Henderson resigned in September 2026; an appointee takes office October 13, 2026 and serves through 2028.
What they are paid
Dayton city staff
The budget shows wages by department, and council packets state pay for single hires. We found no published salary schedule or total staff count. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Dayton 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 against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $3.2M (2025-12-31). The city's own target: The city's target is a total general fund balance of 40% of the next year's budgeted spending. At the end of 2025 the total general fund balance was $3,330,013, or 34.45% of the 2026 budget. City of Dayton · 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$7.1M · 77%
- Licenses and permits$1.4M · 15%
- Intergovernmental (state aid)$561,670 · 6%
- Interest earnings$85,000 · 1%
- Miscellaneous$56,500 · 1%
- Fines and forfeits$50,000 · 1%
- Other (charges for services, refunds)$36,800 · 0%
Goes to (FY2026)
- Police patrol and investigation$3.7M · 40%
- Public works$1.2M · 13%
- Fire$956,920 · 10%
- Building inspections$666,260 · 7%
- Parks$593,130 · 6%
- Finance$361,720 · 4%
- Recycling (contract)$307,500 · 3%
- Other (administration, clerk, council, legal, planning, IT, elections, central services, other)$1.5M · 16%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Minnesota property taxes are mostly set as a rate on a property's tax capacity. The city's budget uses Hennepin County and the Osseo school district; most of Dayton is in the Anoka-Hennepin district and a small part is in Wright County, where rates differ.
35¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Dayton
- City of Dayton35.394 · 35%
- Hennepin County37.081 · 36%
- Osseo School District23.64 · 23%
- Other districts6.282 · 6%
- Total (percent of tax capacity)102.397
Taxes payable 2025 rates for a home in Dayton (Hennepin County, Osseo schools). City of Dayton · Dec 9, 2025
See what a Dayton house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Dayton is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityDayton Police DepartmentCity of Dayton · Dec 9, 2025
- Fire and emergency responseThe cityDayton Fire DepartmentThe 2026 budget moves from paid-on-call firefighters toward a duty crew system.City of Dayton · Oct 10, 2026
- WaterThe cityCity water utilityCity of Dayton · Jun 2, 2026
- Wastewater treatmentAnother agencyMetropolitan CouncilCity of Dayton · Dec 9, 2025
- StreetsThe cityCity public worksCity of Dayton · Oct 10, 2026
- ParksThe cityCity public works and parksCity of Dayton · Oct 10, 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 | Little CanadaMN | CambridgeMN | DaytonMN | Mendota HeightsMN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 10,567 | 11,090 | 11,402 | 11,475 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $169,333 | Not confirmed | $192,000 | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | $6,250 | Not confirmed | $4,968 | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $572 | $869 | $814 | $1,217 |
| Debt per resident | $180 | $2,529 | $1,446 | $1,888 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $61 | $244 | $184 | $255 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | — | — | 4.8 |
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). Little Canada pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Dayton 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 onlineWe found no employment agreement for the City Administrator on the city's website. Council minutes state his pay after the April 2026 review. City of Dayton · Oct 10, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes online City of Dayton · Oct 10, 2026
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentResolution 30-2026 states current pay: $6,210 a year for the mayor and $4,968 for council members. City of Dayton · Jul 28, 2026
- Partly: Employee pay publishedCouncil packets state starting pay for single hires, such as $42.50 per hour for a police officer. We found no published salary schedule. City of Dayton · Dec 9, 2025
Questions to ask your council
- The general fund balance was $3.33 million at the end of 2025, 34.45% of the 2026 budget and below the city's 40% target. When does the council plan to reach the target?
- General fund spending exceeded revenue by $44,491 in 2025, and permits came in under budget. What happens to the budget if home building stays slower?
The fiscal year starts January 1. City staff present a proposed budget each August. The September 8, 2026 agenda included the preliminary 2027 levy, with a public hearing set for December 8, 2026. The 2026 budget and levy were adopted December 9, 2025. See who is running for council
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