How Worthington is run
Who runs Worthington, 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 Worthington's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Worthington
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
- 12 months of severance pay and benefits if the council terminates him while he is willing and able to serve
Worthington city staff
127 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 37, Electric utility 15, Streets 10, Parks 10, Community development 10. 2025-12-31. Full-time equivalent employees at December 31, 2025, including 45 in the city-owned water, wastewater, electric and liquor operations. City of Worthington · Jun 25, 2026
The city does not post a list of staff pay. Budgets show only department totals. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Worthington 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: $9.2M (2025-12-31). The city's own target: Keep unassigned general fund balance at 35% to 50% of the next year's budgeted spending, to cover cash flow between the July and December property tax payments. At the end of 2025 it equaled 84% of budgeted spending, above the policy range. The city meets this target. City of Worthington · Jun 25, 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
- State and federal aid$4.6M · 41%
- Property taxes$3.8M · 34%
- Transfers from other funds$1.4M · 12%
- Charges for services$426,465 · 4%
- Licenses and permits$238,300 · 2%
- Interest earnings$220,054 · 2%
- Other taxes$173,500 · 2%
- Other (fines, special assessments, other revenue and interfund transfers)$334,088 · 3%
Goes to (FY2026)
- Personnel$7.2M · 64%
- Other services and charges$2.7M · 24%
- Capital outlay$740,801 · 7%
- Supplies$477,975 · 4%
- Transfers to other funds$104,684 · 1%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Minnesota tax rates apply to a property's tax capacity, not its market value. The city's rate is the largest share of the combined rate.
53¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Worthington
- City of WorthingtonIncludes 7.316 for debt service.59.294 · 53%
- Nobles County30.512 · 27%
- Independent School District #51818.999 · 17%
- Special districts3.305 · 3%
- Total (% of tax capacity)112.11
2025 property tax rates for a property in the city of Worthington (Nobles County). City of Worthington · Jun 25, 2026
Who provides your services
Not everything in Worthington is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityWorthington Police Department25 sworn officers.City of Worthington · Oct 10, 2026
- Fire and rescueThe cityWorthington Fire Department36 volunteer firefighters, who also provide emergency medical services.City of Worthington · Oct 10, 2026
- ElectricityThe cityWorthington Public Utilities (city-owned)City of Worthington · Oct 10, 2026
- WaterThe cityWorthington Public Utilities (city-owned)City of Worthington · Oct 10, 2026
- Sewer and wastewaterThe cityWorthington Public Utilities (city-owned)City of Worthington · Oct 10, 2026
- Trash and recyclingContractorSchaap Sanitation (city contract)The contract also covers brush and lawn clippings.City of Worthington · Oct 10, 2026
- Streets and snow removalThe cityCity street departmentCity of Worthington · Oct 10, 2026
- ParksThe cityCity public works departmentCity of Worthington · Oct 10, 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 | WorthingtonMN | WaconiaMN | BrainerdMN | HutchinsonMN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 13,979 | 14,113 | 14,428 | 14,655 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | $155,958 | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | $6,000 | $6,600 | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $806 | $947 | $980 | $1,129 |
| Debt per resident | $3,350 | $3,949 | $2,317 | $3,168 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $302 | $111 | $377 | $444 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 9.1 | 3.8 | 5.9 | 13.3 |
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). Waconia pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Worthington 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 onlineMinutes record the 2015 approval of the administrator's contract, but we found no copy of the contract online. City of Worthington · Mar 23, 2015
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineMeeting videos, with English and Spanish recaps, and council minutes are posted on the city website. City of Worthington · Oct 10, 2026
- No: Council pay stated in a public documentThe charter says council pay is set by ordinance. We found no readable document stating the amount. City of Worthington · Oct 10, 2026
- No: Employee pay publishedWe found no published list of staff pay. The budget summary shows only fund totals. City of Worthington · Dec 8, 2025
Questions to ask your council
- Unassigned general fund balance was $9,238,441 at the end of 2025, about 84% of budgeted spending against a 35% to 50% policy. What does the council plan to do with the balance above the policy range?
- The general fund added $2,275,525 to its balance in 2025, helped by $1,583,999 in transfers in. How much of the 2026 budget depends on transfers from other funds like the $1,375,334 planned?
Help decide what comes next
What do you want to know about Worthington next?
One tap, no sign-in. We count answers; we never show who chose what.
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?
See something wrong? Report an error
Something wrong or missing? Tell us what and where, with a link to a source if you have one. Reports feed the next verification run.