How Mankato is run
Who runs Mankato, 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 Mankato's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Mankato
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
- $4,800 a year car allowance
- A $150 per day payment for up to four days a year for meetings, training or legislative events
- Elected officials can join a state defined contribution retirement plan
Mankato city staff
312 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 58, Transit 48, Fire 19. 2025-12-31. City of Mankato · Jun 23, 2026
The budget lists salary and benefit costs by job title. We found no city-published pay list for individual employees. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Mankato 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 city's five-year projection has general fund spending rising from $39.4 million in 2026 to $44.3 million in 2030, with small yearly surpluses keeping fund balance at 44% to 45% of spending. The budget says fund balance is not growing as fast as spending, and a solution must be found in future years. City of Mankato · Dec 11, 2025
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $13.9M (2025-12-31). The city's own target: Keep total general fund balance at 40% of the next year's expenditure budget, and no more than 55%. Unassigned balance alone was 39.3% of 2025 general fund spending. City of Mankato · Jun 23, 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 tax levy$21.9M · 55%
- Local Government Aid$8.5M · 22%
- Miscellaneous$2.1M · 5%
- Charges for services$1.9M · 5%
- Licenses and permits$1.9M · 5%
- State grants$1.4M · 4%
- Transfers in$1.1M · 3%
- Other$698,000 · 2%
Goes to (FY2026)
- Personal services$23.4M · 59%
- Other services$4.3M · 11%
- Vehicle operations$4.1M · 10%
- Other charges$3.3M · 8%
- Supplies$1.7M · 4%
- Capital outlay and transfers$1.7M · 4%
- Other (insurance, utilities)$802,200 · 2%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Minnesota property taxes are mostly set as a rate on a property's tax capacity. These are the city's own table of direct and overlapping rates. It leaves out voter-approved school levies charged on market value.
38¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Mankato
- City of Mankato34.29% operating plus 6.41% debt service.40.7 · 38%
- County39.51 · 37%
- School district25.51 · 24%
- Region 9 and special districts0.14 · <1%
- Total (percent of tax capacity)105.86
Taxes payable 2025 tax capacity rates for property in Mankato. City of Mankato · Jun 23, 2026
See what a Mankato house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Mankato is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityMankato Department of Public SafetyCity of Mankato · Jun 23, 2026
- FireThe cityMankato Department of Public SafetyCity of Mankato · Jun 23, 2026
- WaterThe cityCity of MankatoCity of Mankato · Jun 23, 2026
- SewerThe cityCity of MankatoThe plant also serves North Mankato, Eagle Lake and South Bend Township.City of Mankato · Jun 23, 2026
- StreetsThe cityCity of MankatoCity of Mankato · Jun 23, 2026
- ParksThe cityCity of MankatoCity of Mankato · Jun 23, 2026
- TransitThe cityCity of MankatoCity of Mankato · Jun 23, 2026
- Arena and event centerThe cityCity of MankatoCity of Mankato · Jun 23, 2026
- TrashThe cityCity of MankatoCity of Mankato · Dec 11, 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 | Cottage GroveMN | MankatoMN | MoorheadMN | ShakopeeMN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 43,604 | 46,529 | 46,533 | 49,366 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | $218,046 | Not confirmed | $240,525 |
| Council member pay | $10,057 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | $7,500 |
| General fund per resident | $714 | $846 | $891 | $871 |
| Debt per resident | $1,399 | $1,575 | $6,196 | $788 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $229 | $266 | $321 | $204 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 5.4 | 6.7 | 6.4 | 3.7 |
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).
What Mankato 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 approved budget, with fund detail and a five-year general fund projection, is posted. City of Mankato · Dec 11, 2025
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineThe city's meeting portal posts agendas, minutes and videos for council meetings. City of Mankato · Oct 10, 2026
- Partly: Council pay stated in a public document Mankato City Code, Chapter 2, Article I (Municode) · Oct 10, 2026
- Partly: Employee pay publishedThe budget lists 2026 salary and benefit costs by job title. We found no pay list by employee. City of Mankato · Dec 11, 2025
Questions to ask your council
- The 2026 general fund budget is $39.4 million, with $21.9 million from the property tax levy and $8.5 million in Local Government Aid. How would the city cover a cut in state aid?
- The five-year projection has general fund spending rising to $44.3 million by 2030 while fund balance stays near 44% to 45% of spending. What solution is the council weighing?
- Unassigned general fund balance was $13.9 million at the end of 2025, 39.3% of spending. How does the council decide how much to assign to other uses?
- The city reports $73.3 million in bonds and loans and a $12.4 million share of PERA pension liability. How will the planned water treatment plant upgrades change these figures?
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