How Inver Grove Heights is run
Who runs Inver Grove Heights, 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 Inver Grove Heights's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Inver Grove Heights
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
Inver Grove Heights city staff
181 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2025. Full-time equivalent employees in 2025, from the statistical section of the audit report. City of Inver Grove Heights · Jun 8, 2026
We found no city-published pay list for employees. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Inver Grove Heights 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 $36.8 million of revenue and spending. The city levy rose 5.7 percent for taxes payable 2026. Between 2025 and 2027 the city is spending $1 million it saved so that the cost of nine firefighters hired in 2022 is fully on the tax levy in 2028. City of Inver Grove Heights · Dec 15, 2025
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $18.1M (2025-12-31). The city's own target: The city strives to keep a minimum unassigned general fund balance of 40 to 45 percent of next year's budgeted spending. At the end of 2025 the unassigned balance equaled 53.9 percent of that year's general fund spending. City of Inver Grove Heights · Jun 8, 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
- Taxes (mostly property tax)$30.7M · 84%
- Charges for services$2.3M · 6%
- Licenses and permits$1.4M · 4%
- State and federal aid$1.3M · 4%
- Transfers and other financing sources$594,332 · 2%
- Other (fines, special assessments, miscellaneous)$574,075 · 2%
Goes to (FY2026)
- Police$13.2M · 36%
- Fire$7.4M · 20%
- Street maintenance$3.4M · 9%
- Parks maintenance$3M · 8%
- Finance$1.5M · 4%
- Engineering$1.5M · 4%
- Inspections$1.4M · 4%
- Other (transfers, council, administration, recreation, planning and more)$5.3M · 15%
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 and the state general levy on business property.
54¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Inver Grove Heights
- City of Inver Grove Heights50.753 · 54%
- Independent School District No. 199Parts of the city are in School Districts 196 or 197 instead.20.742 · 22%
- Dakota County19.948 · 21%
- Special districts (Metropolitan Council, mosquito control, Metropolitan Transit)3.053 · 3%
- Total (percent of tax capacity)94.496
Taxes payable 2025 tax capacity rates for property in Inver Grove Heights in School District 199 (Dakota County). City of Inver Grove Heights · Jun 8, 2026
See what a Inver Grove Heights home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Inver Grove Heights is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityInver Grove Heights Police DepartmentCity of Inver Grove Heights · Jun 8, 2026
- FireThe cityInver Grove Heights Fire DepartmentCity of Inver Grove Heights · Jun 8, 2026
- WaterThe cityCity water utilityCity of Inver Grove Heights · Jun 8, 2026
- SewerThe cityCity sewer utilityCity of Inver Grove Heights · Jun 8, 2026
- StreetsThe cityInver Grove Heights Public WorksCity of Inver Grove Heights · Jun 8, 2026
- Community centerThe cityVeteran's Memorial Community Center (city)Aquatics center, fitness center, ice arena and senior center.City of Inver Grove Heights · Jun 8, 2026
- Golf courseThe cityInver Wood Golf Course (city)City of Inver Grove Heights · Jun 8, 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 | AndoverMN | RosevilleMN | RichfieldMN | Inver Grove HeightsMN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 33,874 | 35,663 | 36,593 | 36,873 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | $226,580 | $234,998 | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | Not current (2019) | $8,220 | $11,128 | $8,200 |
| General fund per resident | $494 | $834 | $960 | $998 |
| Debt per resident | $1,238 | $309 | $1,897 | $797 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $66 | $342 | $339 | $274 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 2.0 | 6.7 | 6.7 | 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). Andover pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Inver Grove Heights 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 city's financial reports page. City of Inver Grove Heights · Oct 10, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineCouncil meetings are broadcast by Town Square TV and viewable online. Minutes are published in the Agenda Center once approved. City of Inver Grove Heights · Oct 10, 2026
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public document City of Inver Grove Heights · Aug 5, 2024
- No: Employee pay publishedWe found no city-published pay list for employees on the city's financial reports page. City of Inver Grove Heights · Oct 10, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- Police ($13.2 million) and fire ($7.4 million) are the largest general fund costs in the 2026 budget. What service levels do those amounts pay for?
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $18.1 million at the end of 2025, 53.9% of that year's spending, against a target of 40 to 45 percent of next year's budget. How does the council decide what to do with the balance above the target?
- The city levy rose 5.7 percent for taxes payable 2026. What drives the preliminary 2027 levy the council adopted on September 14, 2026?
A draft 2026 general fund budget and levy was presented at a July 21, 2025 council work session. The council adopted preliminary 2027 budgets and tax levies on September 14, 2026. For the 2026 budget, the Truth in Taxation meeting was December 8, 2025, and the council adopted final budgets and levies on December 15, 2025. See who is running for council
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