How Victoria is run
Who runs Victoria, 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 Victoria's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Victoria
Victoria has a council-manager form of government under Minnesota's Statutory Plan B. The mayor and four council members set policy, pass ordinances and adopt the budget. The council appoints the city manager, who runs day-to-day operations and hires staff.
What they are paid
Victoria city staff
36 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2025. Full-time equivalent city employees in 2025 from the audited report's statistical section. Police are not city staff: the city contracts with Carver County for police. City of Victoria · Apr 29, 2026
The budget shows spending by department. We found no published pay plan or list of employee pay. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Victoria 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 long-term financial plan projects a tax rate between 30% and 32% through 2035 and says the city will meet its fund balance and debt policy goals each year. Staff proposed a preliminary 2027 levy of $10,263,915: $8,150,000 for the general fund and $2,113,915 for debt service. City of Victoria · Dec 8, 2025
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $2.2M (2025-12-31). The city's own target: Keep unassigned general fund balance of at least 30% of the next year's budgeted general fund spending, less transfers. The city reports the $2,196,053 balance at the end of 2025 as 30% of 2026 budgeted spending. A separate $2,164,188 is committed for revenue stabilization. The city meets this target. City of Victoria · Jun 29, 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 and franchise fees$7.6M · 82%
- Licenses and permits$787,950 · 9%
- Charges for services$676,500 · 7%
- Miscellaneous$72,500 · 1%
- Intergovernmental$70,000 · 1%
- Other (fines)$8,500 · 0%
Goes to (FY2026)
- Transfers to other funds$1.7M · 19%
- Administration$1.3M · 15%
- Fire protection$921,359 · 10%
- Police (Carver County Sheriff)$785,612 · 9%
- Streets and roads$727,252 · 8%
- Park maintenance$660,404 · 7%
- Planning and zoning$521,317 · 6%
- Building inspections$510,872 · 6%
- Other$1.9M · 21%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Minnesota property taxes are mostly set as a rate on a property's tax capacity. Parts of the city are in the Waconia (ISD 110) or Minnetonka (ISD 276) school districts, which have different rates. This split leaves out voter-approved school levies charged on market value.
33¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Victoria
- City of Victoria26.853 general plus 3.553 debt service.30.406 · 33%
- Carver County30.934 · 33%
- Eastern Carver County Schools (ISD 112)27.551 · 30%
- Special districts3.456 · 4%
- Total (percent of tax capacity)92.347
2025 tax capacity rates for property in Victoria (Carver County, Eastern Carver County Schools ISD 112). City of Victoria · Apr 29, 2026
See what a Victoria home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Victoria is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- Fire and medical emergency responseThe cityVictoria Fire DepartmentPaid-on-call firefighters with a full-time fire chief and deputy chief.City of Victoria · Oct 10, 2026
- SewerThe cityCity sewer utilityCity of Victoria · Oct 10, 2026
- Storm waterThe cityCity storm water utilityCity of Victoria · Apr 29, 2026
- Streets and snow removalThe cityCity public worksCity of Victoria · Apr 29, 2026
- Parks, trails and recreation centerThe cityCity of VictoriaCity of Victoria · Apr 29, 2026
- Building inspectionsThe cityCity of VictoriaCity of Victoria · Apr 29, 2026
- Property assessingThe countyCarver CountyCity of Victoria · Apr 29, 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 | North BranchMN | VictoriaMN | East BethelMN | North St PaulMN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 12,398 | 12,447 | 12,605 | 12,780 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $160,000 | $198,000 | Not current (2023) | Not current (2022) |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | $5,700 | Not current (2023) |
| General fund per resident | $771 | $723 | $591 | $794 |
| Debt per resident | $1,102 | $3,139 | $1,270 | $2,688 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $183 | $99 | $54 | $256 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | — | 2.9 | 1.7 | 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). East Bethel pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Victoria publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted online City of Victoria · Dec 8, 2025
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineMinutes list who moved and seconded each motion and name each member voting aye. City of Victoria · Nov 24, 2025
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineAgendas, minutes and videos of council meetings are posted on the city's meeting portal for the past three years. City of Victoria · Oct 10, 2026
- No: Council pay stated in a public documentWe found no document stating council pay. The 2026 budget shows only a combined $37,188 line for the mayor and council. City of Victoria · Jul 20, 2026
- No: Employee pay publishedWe found no published pay plan or employee pay list on the city's financial reports page. City of Victoria · Oct 10, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- Unassigned general fund balance was $2,196,053 at the end of 2025, right at the 30% policy minimum. Does the council plan to keep reserves at the minimum or build them up?
- General fund revenue exceeded spending by $3.4 million in 2025, and $2.9 million was transferred to other funds. How are those transfers split between streets, equipment and buildings?
- Bonds outstanding were $39.1 million at the end of 2025, and the preliminary 2027 levy includes $2,113,915 for debt service. How will the debt levy change as more street projects are financed with bonds?
- Staff proposed a preliminary 2027 levy of $10,263,915, including $8,150,000 for the general fund. Which costs drive the general fund share?
The fiscal year starts January 1. Departments send budget requests to the city manager by June. Staff proposed a preliminary 2027 levy of $10,263,915 at the September 14, 2026 council meeting. The council adopts the final levy and budget in December. The 2026 levy and budget were adopted December 8, 2025. See who is running for council
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