How Mount Airy is run
Who runs Mount Airy, 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 Mount Airy's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Mount Airy
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
Mount Airy city staff
173 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2026-27. Full-time positions only: 139 in the general fund and 34 in the water and sewer fund. Part-time staff are counted separately. City of Mount Airy · Jun 4, 2026
North Carolina has no statewide public pay database. The budget lists positions by job title but not pay by job or person. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Mount Airy 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 budget has no multi-year revenue forecast; a five-year capital plan lists major projects. The FY2026-27 general fund is balanced with $83,500 of Powell Bill and drug fund balance. The capital investment fund plans to use $3.0M of its fund balance and the water and sewer fund $2.5M. City of Mount Airy · Jun 4, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $11.5M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Fund balance should be at least $6 million or 45% of expenditures including transfers, whichever is higher, and is to be made up of unassigned fund balance. The budget reports available fund balance at 113.3% of expenditures on June 30, 2025. City of Mount Airy · Jun 4, 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 FY2026-27.
Comes from
- Property tax (current year)$9.1M · 47%
- Unrestricted intergovernmental (mainly sales tax)$6.7M · 34%
- Sales and services$1.9M · 10%
- Other taxes and licenses$881,250 · 4%
- Restricted intergovernmental$457,000 · 2%
- Investment earnings$375,000 · 2%
- Other$202,500 · 1%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$6.5M · 33%
- Public works$3.5M · 18%
- Parks and recreation$3M · 15%
- Fire$2.6M · 13%
- Legislative$908,000 · 5%
- Finance$825,500 · 4%
- Payment to Tourism Development Authority$825,000 · 4%
- Other (administration, HR, planning, transfer to capital fund)$1.5M · 8%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
About 48 cents of each property-tax dollar a Mount Airy homeowner paid went to the city. Downtown properties in the municipal service district pay $0.21 more. The city rate is $0.58 for FY2026-27.
48¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Mount Airy
- City of Mount Airy0.6 · 48%
- Surry County0.552 · 44%
- Mount Airy City Schools district tax (levied by Surry County)0.106 · 8%
- Total (dollars per $100 of value)1.258
FY2022-23 rates for a home in the City of Mount Airy (Surry County). City of Mount Airy · Nov 15, 2023
Who provides your services
Not everything in Mount Airy is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityMount Airy Police DepartmentCity of Mount Airy · Jun 4, 2026
- FireThe cityMount Airy Fire DepartmentCity of Mount Airy · Jun 4, 2026
- WaterThe cityCity of Mount Airy Public Works (water treatment and utilities)Two treatment plants: the 6.0 MGD F.G. Doggett and 2.5 MGD S.L. Spencer facilities.City of Mount Airy · Jun 4, 2026
- SewerThe cityCity of Mount Airy Public Works (wastewater treatment)City of Mount Airy · Jun 4, 2026
- TrashThe cityCity of Mount Airy Public Works, Sanitation DivisionCity of Mount Airy · Jun 4, 2026
- StreetsThe cityCity of Mount Airy Public Works, Streets DivisionCity of Mount Airy · Jun 4, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityMount Airy Parks and RecreationRuns the Reeves Community Center.City of Mount Airy · Jun 4, 2026
- Public schoolsSeparate districtMount Airy City SchoolsCity of Mount Airy · Nov 15, 2023
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 | Mount AiryNC | LincolntonNC | HendersonvilleNC | AshevilleNC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 10,682 | 12,465 | 15,867 | 93,523 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | $265,000 |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | $5,125 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,835 | $1,524 | $2,140 | $2,005 |
| Debt per resident | $514 | $74 | $6,745 | $2,957 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $611 | $667 | $1,127 | $821 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 16.2 | 13.6 | 20.4 | 14.8 |
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).
What Mount Airy publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe FY2026-27 adopted budget, adopted June 4, 2026, is posted on the city's Finance page. City of Mount Airy
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineWe found no posted employment agreement on the Finance page, the City Manager page or in the document center. City of Mount Airy
- No: Council votes recorded member by member onlineThe Agenda Center posts Board of Commissioners agendas, but we found no board minutes newer than 2021, so no member-by-member votes. City of Mount Airy
- Partly: Meeting videos and minutes onlineBoard meetings can be viewed on the city's Facebook page. Agendas are posted; we found no recent board minutes. City of Mount Airy
- No: Council pay stated in a public documentThe adopted budget shows a Legislative department total but not the mayor's or commissioners' pay. City of Mount Airy · Jun 4, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The budget reports available general fund balance at 113.3% of spending on June 30, 2025, against a policy of $6 million or 45%. What is the plan for the amount above the policy?
- Police is the largest line in the $19.6 million FY2026-27 general fund, at $6.45 million. How is the city meeting its emergency staffing needs?
- The FY2026-27 budget uses $3.0 million of capital investment fund balance and $2.5 million of water and sewer fund balance. Which projects does that pay for, and how long can those balances support this pace?
- The newest audited report posted online is for the year ended June 30, 2023. When will the FY2024 and FY2025 reports be posted?
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