How Farmington is run
Who runs Farmington, 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 Farmington's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Farmington
The elected mayor heads the city government and appoints its top administrator and department heads. The council passes laws, adopts the budget and sets the tax rate.
What they are paid
- $6,500 a year paid into a deferred compensation account
- Car allowance of $500 a month
- Same health, dental, life and disability insurance as other non-union employees
- PERA pension contributions as state law requires
Farmington city staff
105 full-time-equivalent positions, including Public safety (police and fire) 34, Liquor operations 13. FY2025. All funds. The city also has a volunteer fire department of 50 people and hires seasonal parks staff. City of Farmington · Jul 6, 2026
The city posts the base pay of its three highest-paid employees on its home page. We found no full employee pay list. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Farmington 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 preliminary 2027 general fund budget is $21,060,553, up from $18,838,494 in 2026, with a preliminary levy of $21,691,146. Staff name wages and employee health insurance as major cost drivers. The city plans to use nearly $425,000 of existing funds to lower the debt levy. City of Farmington · Sep 21, 2026
Savings
Unassigned general fund balance: $13M (2025-12-31). City of Farmington · Jul 6, 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 (operating levy)$14.9M · 79%
- Charges for services$1.1M · 6%
- Intergovernmental (state and county aid)$1.1M · 6%
- Licenses and permits$982,975 · 5%
- Transfers in$423,000 · 2%
- Other (fines, investment income, rentals, miscellaneous)$336,800 · 2%
Goes to (FY2026)
- Police$6.7M · 36%
- General government (administration, HR, finance)$3.5M · 19%
- Fire$3M · 16%
- Public works (streets, engineering, snow removal)$2M · 11%
- Parks and recreation$2M · 11%
- Community development$1.5M · 8%
- Transfers out$73,072 · 0%
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 rate includes 4.660 for debt service. This split leaves out voter-approved school levies charged on market value. The audit's table rounds the total to 107.878.
44¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Farmington
- City of Farmington47.908 · 44%
- Independent School District No. 19237.794 · 35%
- Dakota County19.948 · 18%
- Other special districts2.229 · 2%
- Total (percent of tax capacity)107.879
Taxes payable 2025 tax capacity rates for property in Farmington (Dakota County, ISD 192). City of Farmington · Jul 6, 2026
See what a Farmington home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Farmington is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityFarmington Police DepartmentCity of Farmington · Jul 6, 2026
- FireThe cityFarmington Fire DepartmentVolunteer department of about 50 people.City of Farmington · Jul 6, 2026
- AmbulanceAnother agencyApple Valley/Lakeville/Farmington (ALF) Ambulance, run day to day by AllinaA joint powers service of three cities.City of Farmington · Jul 6, 2026
- WaterThe cityCity of Farmington water utilityCity of Farmington · Jul 6, 2026
- SewerThe cityCity of Farmington sewer utilityThe sewer fund pays monthly charges to Metropolitan Council Environmental Services (MCES).City of Farmington · Dec 15, 2025
- Stormwater and street lightingThe cityCity of Farmington utilitiesCity of Farmington · Jul 6, 2026
- Trash and recyclingContractorDick's Sanitation ServiceResidential collection under a city contract effective January 1, 2022.City of Farmington · Dec 15, 2025
- Streets and snow removalThe cityCity of Farmington public worksCity of Farmington · Dec 1, 2025
- Liquor storesThe cityCity of Farmington municipal liquor operationsCity of Farmington · Jul 6, 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 | OtsegoMN | FaribaultMN | FarmingtonMN | WinonaMN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 24,525 | 25,040 | 25,425 | 26,530 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $194,480 | $172,162 | $204,208 | $183,750 |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | $9,800 | Not confirmed | $7,705 |
| General fund per resident | $449 | $976 | $741 | $937 |
| Debt per resident | $2,859 | $971 | $496 | $324 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $53 | $262 | $190 | $307 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 1.8 | 6.4 | 4.1 | 6.6 |
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). Otsego pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Farmington publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Partly: Adopted budget posted online City of Farmington · Dec 1, 2025
- No: Council pay stated in a public documentThe 2026 budget shows only a $129,068 Legislative line. We found no document stating council or mayor pay. City of Farmington · Dec 1, 2025
- Partly: Employee pay publishedAs state law requires, the city posts base pay for its three highest-paid jobs on its home page. We found no full pay list. City of Farmington · Oct 10, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The preliminary 2027 general fund budget is $21,060,553, up from $18,838,494 in 2026. Which costs drive the increase?
- The fire budget rises from $2,066,829 in 2025 to $2,975,107 in 2026. What does the added money pay for?
- The general fund took in $19.7 million and spent $17.9 million in 2025. How does the city set its levy when revenue tops spending?
The fiscal year starts January 1. The council adopted the preliminary 2027 budget and levy on September 21, 2026 and set the public input meeting on the final budget and levy for December 7, 2026. The 2026 budget was adopted December 1, 2025. See who is running for council
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