How Willmar is run
Who runs Willmar, 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 Willmar's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Willmar
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
- Severance of four months' salary plus four months of group insurance if terminated without cause
- Health, dental, life and disability insurance on the same terms as non-union staff
- PERA pension contributions as state law requires
- City cell phone that may also be used for personal purposes
- Mileage at the IRS rate for business use of a personal car
- No city match on deferred compensation
Willmar city staff
We found no total staff count in the 2026 budget or the 2024 audit. The city posts only the base pay of its three highest-paid jobs, last updated for January 2023. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Willmar 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.
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $-900,737 (2024-12-31). That means every dollar the general fund has saved is set aside in a named reserve or category, not that it has no savings. The city's own target: The council commits general fund balance to set uses rather than a minimum unassigned balance: $4 million for working capital, $1 million each for self-insurance, next year's budget and current-year emergencies, and $1.07 million for employee leave. Committed balance totaled $8.07 million at the end of 2024, which left unassigned balance below zero. City of Willmar · Jun 30, 2025
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$10.4M · 45%
- Local Government Aid (state)$6.2M · 27%
- Transfers in from other funds$2.9M · 13%
- Other state and county aid$1.1M · 5%
- Charges for services$988,100 · 4%
- Franchise fees$830,000 · 4%
- Licenses and permits$415,000 · 2%
- Other (fines, miscellaneous)$253,000 · 1%
Goes to (FY2026)
- Police$7.1M · 31%
- Public works$4.4M · 19%
- Fire$1.5M · 6%
- Parks and recreation$1.2M · 5%
- Planning and development$1.1M · 5%
- Civic center$1.1M · 5%
- Information technology$957,565 · 4%
- Capital improvement program$879,000 · 4%
- Other (administration, finance, library, engineering, other)$5M · 22%
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.
45¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Willmar
- City of Willmar54.41 · 45%
- Kandiyohi County45.52 · 37%
- School district19.87 · 16%
- Housing and redevelopment authority1.09 · <1%
- Economic development (EDC, Mid-MN Development)0.9 · <1%
- Total (percent of tax capacity)121.79
Taxes payable 2024 tax capacity rates for property in Willmar (Kandiyohi County). City of Willmar · Jun 30, 2025
Who provides your services
Not everything in Willmar is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityWillmar Police DepartmentBased in the Law Enforcement Center shared with the Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Office.City of Willmar · Oct 10, 2026
- FireThe cityWillmar Fire DepartmentPaid-on-call firefighters; also covers Willmar Township and part of Dovre Township.City of Willmar · Oct 10, 2026
- Electric and waterThe cityWillmar Municipal UtilitiesCity-owned, run by a commission the council appoints; the council approves rates.City of Willmar · Jun 30, 2025
- WastewaterThe cityCity wastewater treatment utilityCity of Willmar · Jun 30, 2025
- Streets and snow plowingThe cityWillmar Public Works DepartmentCity of Willmar · Oct 10, 2026
- ParksThe cityWillmar Public Works and Parks and RecreationCity of Willmar · Oct 10, 2026
- Civic center and community centerThe cityCity of WillmarCity of Willmar · Dec 23, 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 | NorthfieldMN | WillmarMN | New BrightonMN | CrystalMN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 21,992 | 22,001 | 22,159 | 22,239 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $208,977 | $164,570 | $204,100 | Not current (2023) |
| Council member pay | $10,302 | Not confirmed | $7,000 | $8,170 |
| General fund per resident | $947 | $1,049 | $1,156 | $1,180 |
| Debt per resident | $3,566 | $4,833 | $1,240 | $323 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $235 | $257 | $258 | $262 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 5.6 | — | 6.4 | 4.4 |
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). Northfield pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Willmar 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 budget book is posted on the city's budget page, and the adoption resolution is in the December 15, 2025 council packet. City of Willmar · Oct 10, 2026
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineMinutes in council packets list roll call votes with each member's name. City of Willmar · Sep 8, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineMeetings stream live and agendas, minutes and videos are posted by year. City of Willmar · Oct 10, 2026
- No: Council pay stated in a public documentThe budget shows only a combined mayor and council wage line. We found no ordinance stating each official's pay. City of Willmar · Dec 23, 2025
- Partly: Employee pay published City of Willmar · Oct 10, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- Unassigned general fund balance was below zero at the end of 2024, while $8.07 million was committed to set uses. How does the council plan to bring unassigned balance back above zero?
- General fund spending exceeded revenue by $1,200,989 in 2024, and $2,754,064 in transfers in closed the gap. Which funds provide those transfers, and how stable are they?
- City debt was $106.3 million at the end of 2024, and almost half of it is wastewater treatment notes and bonds. How will sewer rates cover those payments?
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