How Roseville is run
Who runs Roseville, 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 Roseville's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Roseville
Roseville has had a council-manager government since 1974 (Plan B). The mayor and four council members, elected at large on a nonpartisan basis to staggered four-year terms, pass ordinances, adopt the budget and hire the city manager. The city manager runs day-to-day operations and appoints department heads.
What they are paid
- The stipend offsets local expenses elected officials incur in their duties
Roseville city staff
240 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 81, Fire 45, Public works 35, Parks and recreation 28. FY2026. City of Roseville · Dec 8, 2025
The city posts the base salaries of its highest-paid positions each year. We found no full employee pay list. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Roseville 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 assumes the general fund tax levy rises 8% a year. In its ten-year forecast, the general fund reaches its minimum reserve level in 2031. Federal grants that help pay for new firefighters and police are expected to run out by the end of 2028. City of Roseville · Dec 8, 2025
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $10M (2025-12-31). The city's own target: Keep the unrestricted general fund balance at 35% to 50% of the next year's budgeted general fund operating spending. At the end of 2025 it was 35.4%, so the minimum was met. The city meets this target. City of Roseville · May 4, 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$23.4M · 80%
- Intergovernmental (state aid and grants)$3.4M · 12%
- Charges for services$1.8M · 6%
- Licenses and permits$467,083 · 2%
- Other (fines, interest, miscellaneous)$412,300 · 1%
Goes to (FY2026)
- Police$14.8M · 50%
- Fire and emergency medical services$6.8M · 23%
- General government$4.5M · 15%
- Public works$3.6M · 12%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Minnesota property taxes are mostly set as a rate on a property's tax capacity. About a third of the city is in School District 621 instead (17.03 in 2025). Special district rates (10.32 in 2025) apply only to some owners and are left out here.
35¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Roseville
- City of Roseville (operating and debt service)40.38 · 35%
- Ramsey County47.48 · 41%
- School District 623 (Roseville Area Schools)27.77 · 24%
- Total (percent of tax capacity)115.63
2025 tax capacity rates for property in Roseville (Ramsey County, ISD 623). City of Roseville · May 4, 2026
See what a Roseville home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Roseville is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityRoseville Police DepartmentCity of Roseville · May 4, 2026
- Fire and emergency medical servicesThe cityRoseville Fire DepartmentCity of Roseville · Dec 8, 2025
- WaterThe cityCity of RosevilleThe city runs the water system and buys wholesale water from the St. Paul Regional Water System Authority.City of Roseville · Dec 8, 2025
- SewerThe cityCity of RosevilleThe city runs the sewer system and pays treatment fees to the Metropolitan Council.City of Roseville · Dec 8, 2025
- RecyclingContractorContracted hauler (city recycling program)City of Roseville · Dec 8, 2025
- StreetsThe cityCity of RosevilleCity of Roseville · May 4, 2026
- Storm drainageThe cityCity of RosevilleCity of Roseville · May 4, 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 Roseville publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineAdopted budgets from 2013 through 2026 are on the city's budget page. City of Roseville · Oct 10, 2026
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineCouncil minutes list roll-call votes by name. City of Roseville · May 15, 2023
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentOrdinance No. 1679 sets monthly stipends of $885 for the mayor and $685 for council members. City of Roseville · Oct 7, 2024
- Partly: Employee pay publishedThe city posts the base salaries of its top-paid positions each year. We found no full pay list. City of Roseville · Oct 10, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The 2026 general fund levy rose 12.6% to add 22 public safety positions, partly paid by federal grants that end by 2028. How will the city pay for these positions after the grants end?
- The city's forecast assumes an 8% levy increase each year and shows reserves reaching the minimum level in 2031. What changes would keep reserves above the minimum?
- Unrestricted general fund reserves were 35.4% of next year's budget at the end of 2025, just above the 35% minimum. Should the council set a target nearer the middle of its 35% to 50% range?
- The city's share of PERA pension liabilities was $12,186,465 as of June 30, 2025, more than its $11,005,000 in bonds. How does the budget plan for rising pension contributions?
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