How La Vista is run
Who runs La Vista, 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 La Vista's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs La Vista
The elected mayor heads the city government and appoints its top administrator and department heads. The council passes laws, adopts the budget and sets the tax rate.
What they are paid
La Vista city staff
164 full-time-equivalent positions. 2024-09-30. All funds, as of September 30, 2024. City of La Vista · Mar 30, 2025
The compensation ordinance publishes salary ranges by pay grade. Individual staff pay is not published. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is La Vista 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 10-year forecast says the city is on solid footing but projects a declining general fund balance. Its recommended plan, which adds restaurant and hotel tax increases, keeps reserves above the 20% target through FY2031-32. City of La Vista · Mar 11, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $19.9M (2025-09-30). The city's own target: Council policy (June 15, 2021) sets a target reserve of 20% to 25% of the general fund operating expenditure budget. The audit says unassigned fund balance was 77% of FY2024-25 operating spending, above the target. The city meets this target. City of La Vista · Mar 30, 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 FY2025-26.
Comes from
- Property tax$13.2M · 47%
- Sales tax$6.7M · 24%
- State revenue$2.4M · 9%
- Hotel occupancy tax$1.2M · 4%
- Restaurant tax$1M · 4%
- Occupation and franchise taxes$898,312 · 3%
- Grants$834,000 · 3%
- Other (fees, permits, interest, other)$1.9M · 7%
Goes to (FY2025-26)
- Personnel$17.3M · 61%
- Contractual services (including the Papillion fire contract)$7.3M · 26%
- Maintenance$1.3M · 4%
- Capital outlay$1.2M · 4%
- Commodities$762,801 · 3%
- Other charges$433,599 · 2%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
The city's share is about 27 cents of each property tax dollar. Schools take the largest share.
27¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of La Vista
- Schools (Papillion La Vista, Learning Community, ESU 3)1.125374 · 56%
- City of La Vista0.50 general fund and 0.04 debt service.0.54 · 27%
- Sarpy County0.28496 · 14%
- Other (Papio NRD, Metro Community College, Agricultural Society)0.053025 · 3%
- Total ($ per $100 of assessed value)2.003359
2025 rates for a home in La Vista in the Papillion La Vista school district (Sarpy County). Nebraska Department of Revenue · Nov 8, 2025
Who provides your services
Not everything in La Vista is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityCity of La VistaCity of La Vista · Mar 30, 2025
- Fire and EMSContractorCity of Papillion Fire Department (with the Papillion Rural Fire District)Interlocal agreement; payments are based on each entity's assessed valuation.City of La Vista · Mar 11, 2026
- WaterSeparate districtMetropolitan Utilities District (MUD)GovHR USA · Jul 18, 2025
- SewerThe cityCity of La VistaCity of La Vista · Mar 30, 2025
- LibraryThe cityCity of La VistaCity of La Vista · Mar 30, 2026
- StreetsThe cityCity of La VistaCity of La Vista · Mar 30, 2025
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of La VistaCity of La Vista · Mar 30, 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 | LexingtonNE | La VistaNE | North PlatteNE | HastingsNE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 11,176 | 16,543 | 22,524 | 25,121 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | $11,231 | Not confirmed | $5,000 |
| General fund per resident | $926 | $1,704 | $1,697 | $1,439 |
| Debt per resident | $1,348 | $4,746 | $3,419 | $472 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $0 | $0 | $43 | $3 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | — | 9.9 | — | 17.5 |
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). La Vista pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What La Vista publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Audited financial report filed on timeThe FY2025 report, audited by BerganKDV with an opinion dated March 3, 2026, is posted. State law requires it within six months. City of La Vista · Mar 30, 2026
- Partly: Adopted budget posted online City of La Vista
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineThe May 5, 2026 agenda posted the resolution approving the City Administrator's agreement, but not the agreement. City of La Vista · May 5, 2026
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineCouncil minutes list each member's roll call vote, such as the September 2, 2025 budget amendment vote. City of La Vista · Sep 16, 2025
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe compensation ordinance sets council pay at $11,231 a year and the mayor's at $20,464. City of La Vista · Dec 3, 2024
Questions to ask your council
- The city's forecast projects a declining general fund balance, with reserves staying above the 20% target only through FY2031-32 under the recommended plan. Which tax or service changes will the council choose?
- Restaurant tax was budgeted at $1.0M in FY2025-26, and the forecast recommends a 1% rate increase in FY2026-27. Will the council adopt it, and how much would it raise?
- The council approved a new City Administrator's employment agreement on May 5, 2026. Will the city post the agreement and its pay terms?
- The city owed about $78.5M in bonds on September 30, 2025, and plans a $10M bond for a new pool in FY2027-28. How will that bond be repaid?
The fiscal year starts October 1. The City Administrator proposes the budget, and the council adopts a two-year budget in even-numbered years. For FY2026-27 and FY2027-28 the council held a budget workshop on July 20, 2026, a budget hearing on August 5, 2026, and adopted the budget on September 1, 2026. See who is running for council
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