How Savage is run
Who runs Savage, 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 Savage's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Savage
Savage is a Minnesota statutory Plan A city. The mayor and four council members set policy and adopt the budget, and the council appoints the city administrator, who directs all city operations.
What they are paid
Savage city staff
149 full-time-equivalent positions. 2025. City of Savage · Jun 3, 2026
The city posts the base salaries of its three highest-paid jobs. We found no list of individual employee pay. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Savage 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 says its 2026 general fund budget uses no fund balance to balance, for the eleventh year in a row. The 2026 budget carries a full year of three firefighters hired in 2025 and adds three new positions. The city is setting up dedicated funding to replace vehicles and equipment so it borrows less for them. City of Savage · Jun 3, 2026
Savings
Unassigned general fund balance: $11.6M (2025-12-31). City of Savage · Jun 3, 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.
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Minnesota property taxes are mostly set as a rate on a property's tax capacity. Savage is split among three school districts, and this table shows District 191. Not all overlapping rates apply to every property. Voter-approved levies charged on market value are not included.
43¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Savage
- City of Savage40.533 · 43%
- School District 19120.373 · 21%
- Scott County26.977 · 28%
- Special districts7.182 · 8%
- Total (percent of tax capacity)95.065
2025 tax capacity rates for property in Savage in School District 191 (Scott County). City of Savage · Jun 3, 2026
See what a Savage house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Savage is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe citySavage Police DepartmentCity of Savage · Jun 3, 2026
- FireThe citySavage Fire DepartmentCity of Savage · Jun 3, 2026
- StreetsThe cityCity of SavageCity of Savage · Jun 3, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of SavageCity of Savage · Jun 3, 2026
- Building inspectionsThe cityCity of SavageCity of Savage · Jun 3, 2026
- Water and sewerThe cityCity of SavageCity of Savage · Jun 3, 2026
- Storm waterThe cityCity of SavageCity of Savage · Jun 3, 2026
- Street lightingThe cityCity of SavageCity of Savage · Jun 3, 2026
- Liquor store and sports centerThe cityCity of SavageCity of Savage · Jun 3, 2026
- ElectricityPrivate companyXcel Energy or Minnesota Valley Electric CooperativeThe provider depends on the address.City of Savage · Oct 10, 2026
- Criminal prosecutionThe countyScott CountyThrough the Scott Joint Prosecution Association's contract with the county since 2014.City of Savage · Jun 3, 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 | Brooklyn CenterMN | RosemountMN | SavageMN | AndoverMN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 31,846 | 31,881 | 32,970 | 33,874 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $170,040 | Not confirmed | $196,997 | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | $11,493 | $7,900 | Not confirmed | Not current (2019) |
| General fund per resident | $957 | $696 | $801 | $494 |
| Debt per resident | $1,768 | $3,466 | $942 | $1,238 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $294 | $181 | $226 | $66 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | — | 3.5 | 4.5 | 2.0 |
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 Savage publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineWe found no City Administrator employment agreement online. The city posts only his 2026 base salary. City of Savage · Oct 10, 2026
- No: Council votes recorded member by member onlineAgendas and meeting videos are online, but the minutes sit in an archive that needs a sign-in session, so we could not check votes. SavageTV · Dec 15, 2025
- No: Council pay stated in a public documentThe council page lists members and terms but not pay, and we found no readable document stating it. City of Savage · Oct 10, 2026
- Partly: Employee pay publishedThe city posts 2026 base salaries of its three highest-paid jobs. We found no list of individual employee pay. City of Savage · Oct 10, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The city owed $31.1 million in bonds at the end of 2025, most of it special assessment improvement bonds. How much new borrowing does the capital plan expect?
- The city's share of net pension liability in two statewide PERA plans was $3.1M and $4.3M as of June 30, 2025. How might pension costs affect future budgets?
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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?
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