How Winona is run
Who runs Winona, 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 Winona's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Winona
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
Winona city staff
176 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2026. City of Winona · Dec 16, 2025
The city posts the base salaries of its three highest paid employees, not pay by person. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Winona 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: $0 (2025-12-31). 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: Keep general fund balance at 45% to 50% of the next year's general fund revenues or spending. The city reports none of its general fund balance as unassigned. Instead it assigns $12,434,128 for cash flow, so it can avoid short-term borrowing. City of Winona · May 11, 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$10.6M · 43%
- State aid and other intergovernmental revenue$10.6M · 43%
- Franchise taxes (electric and cable TV)$1.5M · 6%
- Charges for services$1.4M · 6%
- Investment earnings, rents and other$304,590 · 1%
- Licenses and permits$210,075 · 1%
- Other (fines and transfers in)$234,300 · 1%
Goes to (FY2026)
- Police$7.4M · 30%
- Fire$4.4M · 18%
- Streets and alleys$2.1M · 9%
- Finance$2M · 8%
- Park maintenance$2M · 8%
- Contingency$725,165 · 3%
- Other (administration, legal, engineering, trees, planning and more)$6.2M · 25%
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.
46¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Winona
- City of Winona46.54 · 46%
- Winona County36.67 · 36%
- School district15.58 · 15%
- Port Authority of Winona2.12 · 2%
- Total (percent of tax capacity)100.91
Taxes payable 2025 tax capacity rates for property in Winona. City of Winona · May 11, 2026
Who provides your services
Not everything in Winona is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityWinona Police DepartmentCity of Winona · May 11, 2026
- FireThe cityWinona Fire DepartmentCity of Winona · May 11, 2026
- WaterThe cityCity water utilityCity of Winona · May 11, 2026
- Sewer and storm waterThe cityCity sanitary sewer and storm sewer utilitiesCity of Winona · May 11, 2026
- StreetsThe cityCity streets and public worksCity of Winona · May 11, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity parks and recreationCity of Winona · May 11, 2026
- LibraryThe cityWinona Public Library (city library fund)City of Winona · May 11, 2026
- Public transitThe cityWinona Transit Service (city)City of Winona · May 11, 2026
- AirportThe cityWinona Municipal Airport (city)City of Winona · May 11, 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 | FaribaultMN | FarmingtonMN | WinonaMN | ShoreviewMN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 25,040 | 25,425 | 26,530 | 26,906 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $172,162 | $204,208 | $183,750 | Not current (2023) |
| Council member pay | $9,800 | Not confirmed | $7,705 | $7,980 |
| General fund per resident | $976 | $741 | $937 | $670 |
| Debt per resident | $971 | $496 | $324 | $2,256 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $262 | $190 | $307 | $125 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 6.4 | 4.1 | 6.6 | 5.9 |
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). Shoreview pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Winona 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 Winona · Oct 10, 2026
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineThe city posts the manager's base salary. We found no copy of his employment agreement online. City of Winona · Aug 13, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineCouncil meetings stream live, and video recordings are posted from August 2, 2021, with agendas and minutes. City of Winona · Oct 10, 2026
- Partly: Employee pay publishedThe city posts base salaries for its three highest paid employees. Pay by person is not posted. City of Winona · Aug 13, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The city reports no unassigned general fund balance and assigns $12,434,128 for cash flow. How does that compare with its 45% to 50% fund balance goal?
- State aid and other intergovernmental revenue of $10,638,533 is budgeted for 2026, almost as much as property taxes. How would the budget change if state aid fell?
- The city's share of PERA pension liability was $8,150,864 at June 30, 2025. How will that affect future budgets?
The fiscal year starts January 1. The city manager proposes the budget, and the council sets a preliminary budget and levy in September (September 8, 2026 for 2027). The council adopts the final budget and levy in December (December 1 in 2025). See who is running for council
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