How East Bethel is run
Who runs East Bethel, 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 East Bethel's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs East Bethel
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
- Six months' severance if terminated without cause
- Four weeks' vacation
- Same fringe benefits as other city employees
East Bethel city staff
22 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2026. Full-time positions in the 2026 budget. The city also budgets 12 part-time positions and paid on-call firefighters. Police come from an Anoka County Sheriff contract. City of East Bethel · Dec 8, 2025
The budget publishes the city's hourly and yearly pay grades. We found no pay list for individual employees. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is East Bethel 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: $5.5M (2025-12-31). City of East Bethel · Apr 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$5.7M · 77%
- Charges to other governments$403,000 · 5%
- Building permits$389,000 · 5%
- State aid$263,000 · 4%
- Use of fund balance$200,000 · 3%
- Interest earnings$120,000 · 2%
- Site lease revenue$86,000 · 1%
- Other (gambling, franchise, licenses, fines and miscellaneous)$256,100 · 3%
Goes to (FY2026)
- Police (Anoka County Sheriff contract)$1.6M · 21%
- Streets$1.2M · 16%
- Fire$1.1M · 14%
- Transfers to capital funds$820,000 · 11%
- Park maintenance$595,900 · 8%
- City administration$530,600 · 7%
- Finance$451,400 · 6%
- Building inspection$419,800 · 6%
- Other (planning, legal, insurance, council, assessing and other)$825,100 · 11%
Who provides your services
Not everything in East Bethel 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 contractCity of East Bethel · Dec 8, 2025
- Fire, rescue and medical callsThe cityEast Bethel Fire Department (paid on-call firefighters)City of East Bethel · Dec 8, 2025
- WaterThe cityCity water utilityTwo separate systems fed by four city wells.City of East Bethel · Dec 8, 2025
- Sewer collectionThe cityCity sewer utilityCity of East Bethel · Dec 8, 2025
- Streets and snow removalThe cityCity public worksCity of East Bethel · Dec 8, 2025
- Parks and trailsThe cityCity public worksCity of East Bethel · Dec 8, 2025
- EngineeringContractorConsulting engineerCity of East Bethel · Dec 8, 2025
- Property assessingThe countyAnoka County Assessor's Office, under contractCity of East Bethel · Dec 8, 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 | North BranchMN | VictoriaMN | East BethelMN | North St PaulMN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 12,398 | 12,447 | 12,605 | 12,780 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $160,000 | $198,000 | Not current (2023) | Not current (2022) |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | $5,700 | Not current (2023) |
| General fund per resident | $771 | $723 | $591 | $794 |
| Debt per resident | $1,102 | $3,139 | $1,270 | $2,688 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $183 | $99 | $54 | $256 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | — | 2.9 | 1.7 | 4.9 |
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). East Bethel pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What East Bethel publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineThe council page links agendas, packets and minutes, and meetings are available on demand on the city's YouTube channel. City of East Bethel · Oct 10, 2026
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe 2026 budget sets the mayor's pay at $525 a month and each council member's at $475. City of East Bethel · Dec 8, 2025
- Partly: Employee pay publishedThe budget publishes the 2026 pay grades and steps. We found no pay list by employee. City of East Bethel · Dec 8, 2025
Questions to ask your council
- The 2026 general fund budget is $7.46 million, and the Anoka County Sheriff contract takes $1.58 million of it. What patrol coverage does that contract buy?
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $5.5 million at the end of 2025, against $6.05 million of general fund spending that year. How much does the city want to keep in reserve, and for what?
- The city owes $14.4 million on sewer and water bonds. How will tax levies and access charges share those payments?
The fiscal year runs January 1 to December 31. Departments present budget proposals to the council in July. The council sets the preliminary levy and budget in September (September 8, 2025), then holds a public hearing and adopts the final budget and levy in December (December 8, 2025). See who is running for council
Help decide what comes next
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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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