How Ashland is run
Who runs Ashland, 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 Ashland's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Ashland
A city manager appointed by the council runs day-to-day operations and all city services and staff. The seven-member council, a mayor and six councilors elected at-large, sets policy; the mayor presides at council meetings.
What they are paid
Ashland city staff
273 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2025 audited report organization chart. City of Ashland · Nov 26, 2025
The city posts salary schedules by job title on its Human Resources page. We found no city-published list of pay by employee. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Ashland 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 describes General Fund expenditures outpacing revenues, with capped property tax rates under Measures 5 and 50 unable to keep pace. It cut General Fund department budgets 3-5% and plans General Fund spending of $47.5M in FY2025-26 against $42.5M of new revenue, drawing on the $16.3M carryforward. City of Ashland · Jul 1, 2025
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $15.4M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep an unrestricted General Fund balance of at least 16.67% of average annual expenditures of the prior three years. The city also plans a policy to build a Reserve Fund equal to 10% of General Fund expenditures. City of Ashland · 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 FY2025-26.
Comes from
- Taxes (property, utility users, lodging, food and beverage)$22.4M · 47%
- Charges for services$10.9M · 23%
- Use of fund balance$5M · 11%
- Franchise fees$4.4M · 9%
- Transfers in$1.5M · 3%
- Licenses and permits$1.3M · 3%
- Other$2M · 4%
Goes to (FY2025-26)
- Personnel services$31.3M · 66%
- Materials and services$12.5M · 26%
- Transfers out and contingency$2.1M · 4%
- Capital outlay$1.6M · 3%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
About 27 cents of each property-tax dollar goes to the city ($4.35 of $15.97 per $1,000). These are the rates in the city's audited report, rounded to the cent; Oregon's Measure 5 and Measure 50 limits can lower what an owner actually pays.
27¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Ashland
- Ashland School District 57.51 · 47%
- City of Ashland (permanent rate)4.29 · 27%
- Jackson County2.77 · 17%
- Rogue Community College0.64 · 4%
- Jackson County Education Service District0.35 · 2%
- Rogue Valley Transit District0.31 · 2%
- City of Ashland (bonded debt)0.06 · <1%
- Jackson County Vector Control0.04 · <1%
- Total ($ per $1,000 of assessed value)15.97
FY2024-25 rates for property in the city of Ashland (Jackson County). City of Ashland · Nov 26, 2025
See what a Ashland home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Ashland is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityAshland Police DepartmentCity of Ashland
- Fire protectionThe cityAshland Fire & RescueCity of Ashland
- Ambulance (EMS)The cityAshland Fire & RescueAlso covers Jackson County Ambulance Service Area #3, about 650 square miles.City of Ashland
- WaterThe cityCity of Ashland (Water Fund)City of Ashland
- SewerThe cityCity of Ashland (Wastewater Fund)City of Ashland
- ElectricityThe cityCity of Ashland Electric DepartmentCity of Ashland
- StreetsThe cityCity of Ashland Public WorksCity of Ashland
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Ashland Parks & RecreationCity of Ashland
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 | LebanonOR | AshlandOR | Klamath FallsOR | MilwaukieOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 20,267 | 20,889 | 22,111 | 22,114 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | $226,455 | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | $2,700 | Not current (2023) | $600 | $3,684 |
| General fund per resident | $830 | $2,276 | $10,153 | $3,241 |
| Debt per resident | $2,546 | $1,166 | $2,465 | $2,426 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $715 | $1,754 | $801 | $961 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 5.8 | 13.0 | 7.2 | 7.4 |
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). Lebanon and Klamath Falls and Milwaukie pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Ashland 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 Ashland
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineWe did not find the city manager's employment agreement online. The city's salary schedule lists only a City Manager pay range. City of Ashland
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes online City of Ashland
- Partly: Council pay stated in a public documentNews coverage of Measure 15-215 (May 2023) reports $900 a month for the mayor and each councilor, from early returns. We found no city document. Ashland.news, May 16, 2023
- Partly: Employee pay published City of Ashland
Questions to ask your council
- The general fund spent $4.5 million more than it took in during FY2024-25, and its balance fell $2.7 million. How will the city close that gap in later years?
- The FY2025-26 budget plans $47.5 million of general fund spending against $42.5 million of new revenue. How much of the $16.3 million carryforward should be kept as a reserve?
- The city's share of the Oregon PERS net pension liability was $36.6 million on June 30, 2025. How will rising PERS costs affect the general fund?
- Unassigned general fund balance was $15.4 million on June 30, 2025. When will the city adopt its planned Reserve Fund target of 10% of general fund spending?
The fiscal year ends June 30, and Ashland budgets for two years at a time; the current budget covers the 2025-2027 biennium. The city manager's proposed budget went to the Citizen's Budget Committee on April 30, 2025. The council holds a public hearing before July 1 and adopts the budget and levies taxes by June 30. See who is running for council
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