How Fairmont is run
Who runs Fairmont, 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 Fairmont's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Fairmont
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
- Up to $5,000 for living expenses during the first four months
- Severance of 2 months' pay if let go in the first 6 months, 3 months up to 12 months, 4 months after that
- Term life insurance of one and one-half times annual salary
Fairmont city staff
92 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police officers 17, Water, sewer and electric utilities 28. 2025-12-31. Full-time equivalent employees at the end of 2025, all funds, from the ACFR statistical section. City of Fairmont · May 27, 2026
The city posts a pay scale for some positions in council packets. We found no list of individual employee pay. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Fairmont 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: $1.5M (2025-12-31). The city's own target: Keep total general fund balance between 55% and 65% of general fund spending. At the end of 2025 the total balance was $10.1 million, 93.6% of spending. Of that, $7.9 million is assigned, including $3.7 million for government buildings and $3.0 million for cash flow. City of Fairmont · May 27, 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
- State and federal aid$4.6M · 31%
- Property taxes$4.5M · 31%
- Fund balance used$3.3M · 23%
- Transfers in$825,000 · 6%
- Charges for services$704,265 · 5%
- Interest earnings$300,000 · 2%
- Licenses and permits$207,700 · 1%
- Other (franchise fee, fines, miscellaneous)$134,602 · 1%
Goes to (FY2026)
- Police$3.8M · 26%
- Transfers out to other funds$3.4M · 23%
- Public works (streets, engineering, sanitation)$2.6M · 18%
- General government$2.2M · 15%
- Parks and aquatic park$1.9M · 13%
- Fire$455,535 · 3%
- Other public safety (inspections, animal control, civil defense)$319,194 · 2%
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.
50¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Fairmont
- City of Fairmont65.167 · 50%
- Martin County39.145 · 30%
- School district24.93 · 19%
- Special districts2.028 · 2%
- Total (percent of tax capacity)131.27
2025 tax capacity rates for property in Fairmont (Martin County, ISD 2752). City of Fairmont · May 27, 2026
See what a Fairmont home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Fairmont is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityFairmont Police Department17 officers at the end of 2025.City of Fairmont · May 27, 2026
- FireThe cityFairmont Fire DepartmentVolunteer/paid on call. Also covers eight surrounding townships, about 228 square miles.City of Fairmont · Oct 10, 2026
- ElectricThe cityFairmont Public UtilitiesMunicipal utility since 1902, overseen by a five-member commission appointed by the mayor and approved by the council.City of Fairmont · Oct 10, 2026
- WaterThe cityFairmont Public UtilitiesCity of Fairmont · Oct 10, 2026
- SewerThe cityFairmont Public UtilitiesCity of Fairmont · Oct 10, 2026
- Streets and snow removalThe cityCity street departmentCity of Fairmont · Oct 10, 2026
- ParksThe cityCity park departmentCity of Fairmont · Oct 10, 2026
- Liquor storeThe cityCity municipal off sale liquor storeCity of Fairmont · May 27, 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 | FairmontMN | HermantownMN | Little CanadaMN | CambridgeMN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 10,099 | 10,110 | 10,567 | 11,090 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $151,778 | Not confirmed | $169,333 | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | $8,100 | $6,250 | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,446 | $976 | $572 | $869 |
| Debt per resident | $5,944 | $4,992 | $180 | $2,529 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $367 | $240 | $61 | $244 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 9.1 | — | 2.3 | — |
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 Fairmont publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe 2026 adopted budget is posted on the finance page, with adopted budgets back to 2012. City of Fairmont · Oct 10, 2026
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineMinutes in council packets list roll call votes by name for each motion. City of Fairmont · Sep 28, 2026
- No: Council pay stated in a public documentWe found no readable ordinance or budget line stating mayor or council pay. The council page lists members but not pay. City of Fairmont · Oct 10, 2026
- Partly: Employee pay published City of Fairmont · Feb 19, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $1.5 million at the end of 2025, and the total general fund balance was 93.6% of spending, above the 55% to 65% policy. How does the council decide how much stays assigned?
- Bonds and state revenue notes totaled $60.0 million at the end of 2025, mostly for water and sewer projects. How will utility rates cover the repayments?
Help decide what comes next
What do you want to know about Fairmont 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.