How Fernley is run
Who runs Fernley, 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 Fernley's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 11, 2026.
Who runs Fernley
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
Fernley city staff
106 full-time-equivalent positions, including General government (city departments) 65, Water and sewer utilities 42. FY2026-27 budget. City of Fernley · May 20, 2026
Council packets post job descriptions with pay ranges. We found no city list of pay by employee. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Fernley 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: $9.9M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: A council policy requires unassigned general fund balance of at least 8.3% of general fund spending, not counting capital outlay. At a 2026 budget meeting, the planned $7.4 million ending balance was described as well above a 15% requirement. City of Fernley · Nov 26, 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 FY2026-27.
Comes from
- Regional Transportation Commission street money$10M · 30%
- Drawn from fund balance$9.4M · 28%
- Property tax$6.4M · 19%
- Franchise fees$2.1M · 6%
- Building permits and fees$1.1M · 3%
- Indirect cost charges to other funds$1.1M · 3%
- Business licenses$800,000 · 2%
- Other$2.1M · 7%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Public works and streets$15M · 45%
- General government$7.2M · 22%
- Parks and recreation$3M · 9%
- Planning, building and code enforcement$2.9M · 9%
- Transfer to capital projects fund$2M · 6%
- Animal control, vector control and cemetery$1M · 3%
- Other (municipal court, contingency)$1.9M · 6%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
About 18 cents of each property-tax dollar goes to the city ($0.6748 of $3.6579 per $100 of assessed value). The rest goes to the other taxing entities that overlap tax district 6.0.
18¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Fernley
- All other taxing entities in the district2.9831 · 82%
- City of Fernley0.6748 · 18%
- Total ($ per $100 of assessed value)3.6579
FY2026-27 rates for a property in the city of Fernley (Lyon County tax district 6.0). Lyon County Treasurer · Jul 15, 2026
Who provides your services
Not everything in Fernley is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe countyLyon County Sheriff's OfficeCity of Fernley · Nov 26, 2025
- FireSeparate districtNorth Lyon County Fire Protection DistrictCity of Fernley · Nov 26, 2025
- WaterThe cityCity of Fernley UtilitiesCity of Fernley · Nov 26, 2025
- SewerThe cityCity of Fernley UtilitiesCity of Fernley · Nov 26, 2025
- StreetsThe cityCity of Fernley Public WorksCity of Fernley · Nov 26, 2025
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of FernleyCity of Fernley · Nov 26, 2025
- Animal shelterThe countyLyon CountyCity of Fernley · Nov 26, 2025
- Vector controlThe cityCity of FernleyCity of Fernley · Nov 26, 2025
- Municipal courtThe cityFernley Municipal CourtCity of Fernley · Nov 26, 2025
- CemeteryThe cityCity of FernleyCity of Fernley · Nov 26, 2025
- Swimming poolSeparate districtFernley Swimming Pool DistrictCity of Fernley · Nov 26, 2025
- Senior centerThe countyLyon CountyCity of Fernley · Nov 26, 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 | Boulder CityNV | ElkoNV | MesquiteNV | FernleyNV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 14,884 | 21,019 | 24,001 | 26,214 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $222,052 | Not current (2023) | $170,000 | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | $20,000 | $9,636 | Not confirmed | $15,204 |
| General fund per resident | $3,363 | $1,531 | $1,505 | $1,259 |
| Debt per resident | $845 | $387 | $408 | $1,750 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $3,281 | $1,552 | $1,548 | $417 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 15.0 | 9.4 | — | 4.0 |
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). Fernley pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Fernley 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 final budget filed with the state is posted on the Financial Report Center page. City of Fernley · Oct 11, 2026
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineWe found no contract for the Chief Operating Officer, who replaced the city manager in 2026. Only the job description and pay range are posted. City of Fernley · May 6, 2026
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineMinutes name the mover, the seconder and each member voting yes, no or abstaining, as on the May 20, 2026 budget vote. City of Fernley · May 20, 2026
- Partly: Council pay stated in a public document City of Fernley · Apr 15, 2026
- Partly: Employee pay published City of Fernley · May 6, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The audited report describes an 8.3% reserve policy, while the May 2026 budget discussion cited a 15% requirement. Which rule applies, and is it written down?
- All $45.9 million of the city's bonded debt sits in the water and sewer funds. How will the water and sewer capital projects planned for FY2026-27 be paid for?
Help decide what comes next
What do you want to know about Fernley 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.