How Lake Oswego is run
Who runs Lake Oswego, 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 Lake Oswego's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Lake Oswego
A city manager appointed by the council runs day-to-day operations and city staff. The seven-member council, a mayor and six councilors all elected citywide, sets policy; the mayor presides and votes as a council member.
What they are paid
Lake Oswego city staff
408 full-time-equivalent positions. 2025-27 adopted budget. City of Lake Oswego · Jul 1, 2025
The adopted budget lists monthly and yearly salary ranges by position, and the city posts its compensation plans by employee group. We found no list of pay by employee. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Lake Oswego 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 message calls the city's property tax and utility rate revenues very stable and credits its reserve and contingency policies. The 2025-27 budget sends General Fund resources above policy minimums to parks projects and the Street Fund, including $3 million a year for streets, and makes no contribution to the capital reserve. The city says it updates a six-year projection of general fund revenues and expenditures every year. City of Lake Oswego · Jul 1, 2025
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $14.4M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Set aside 30% of General Fund operating costs: 14% in contingency and 16% in ending fund balance. The city reports this reserve as committed fund balance ($23.2M at June 30, 2025), separate from the unassigned balance. City of Lake Oswego · Dec 11, 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 2025-27 biennium.
Comes from
- Property taxes$92.7M · 45%
- Beginning fund balance$40.1M · 19%
- Charges for services (internal charges to departments)$23.8M · 12%
- Sales and services$17.4M · 8%
- Intergovernmental$14.7M · 7%
- Franchise fees$8.8M · 4%
- Licenses and fees$5.2M · 3%
- Other$4.3M · 2%
Goes to (2025-27 biennium)
- Personnel services$112M · 54%
- Materials and services$47.8M · 23%
- Contingency$22.1M · 11%
- Unappropriated ending balance$12.1M · 6%
- Transfers to other funds$7.2M · 3%
- Capital outlay$5.4M · 3%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
About 31 cents of each property-tax dollar goes to the city and its urban renewal agency ($5.94 of $19.25 per $1,000). These are the rates in the city's audited report, from the Clackamas County Assessor; Oregon's Measure 5 and Measure 50 limits can lower what an owner actually pays.
31¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Lake Oswego
- Lake Oswego School District8.51 · 44%
- City of Lake Oswego (permanent rate)4.6296 · 24%
- Clackamas County3.15 · 16%
- City of Lake Oswego (urban renewal)1.0962 · 6%
- Portland Community College0.62 · 3%
- Metro0.55 · 3%
- Education service district0.34 · 2%
- City of Lake Oswego (bonded debt)0.21 · 1%
- Other (Port of Portland, TriMet, Lake Grove Park, county urban renewal, vector control)0.15 · <1%
- Total ($ per $1,000 of assessed value)19.25
FY2024-25 rates for property in the city of Lake Oswego (Clackamas County). City of Lake Oswego · Dec 11, 2025
See what a Lake Oswego home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Lake Oswego is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityLake Oswego Police DepartmentCity of Lake Oswego
- Fire protectionThe cityLake Oswego Fire DepartmentCity of Lake Oswego
- Emergency medical servicesThe cityLake Oswego Fire DepartmentCity of Lake Oswego
- WaterThe cityCity of Lake Oswego (Water Fund)The city's water treatment plant is in West Linn; the Lake Oswego-Tigard Water Partnership manages the supply system.City of Lake Oswego
- StormwaterThe cityCity of Lake Oswego (Stormwater Fund)City of Lake Oswego
- StreetsThe cityCity of Lake Oswego Public WorksCity of Lake Oswego
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Lake Oswego Parks & RecreationCity of Lake Oswego
- LibraryThe cityLake Oswego Public LibraryCity of Lake Oswego
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 | RedmondOR | KeizerOR | Grants PassOR | Lake OswegoOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 38,547 | 39,140 | 39,239 | 39,722 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $218,397 | $182,915 | $189,278 | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | No salary | No salary | Not current (2015) |
| General fund per resident | $1,353 | $452 | $1,401 | $5,209 |
| Debt per resident | $2,648 | $188 | $542 | $4,954 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $898 | $538 | $871 | $1,568 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 7.0 | 2.7 | 6.5 | 10.3 |
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). Redmond pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Lake Oswego 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 time City of Lake Oswego
- Yes: Adopted budget posted online City of Lake Oswego
- Yes: City manager's contract findable onlineThe new manager's employment agreement is attached to Resolution 26-47 in the Sept. 1, 2026 council agenda. City of Lake Oswego · Sep 1, 2026
- Partly: Council votes recorded member by member onlineThe adopted budget resolution lists ayes and excused members by name. We did not check other votes. City of Lake Oswego
- Partly: Employee pay publishedThe adopted budget lists salary ranges by position. We found no list of pay by employee. City of Lake Oswego
Questions to ask your council
- The general fund spent $1.3 million more than it took in during FY2024-25, and its balance fell $2.6 million. How will the city keep general fund revenue and spending in line through the rest of the 2025-27 biennium?
- Unassigned general fund balance was $14.4 million on June 30, 2025, beside $23.2 million committed to the 30% operating reserve. How much of the unassigned balance should be kept rather than spent on capital projects?
- The city's share of the Oregon PERS net pension liability was $62.3 million on June 30, 2025. How will rising PERS rates affect the general fund?
- The city had $196.8 million of bonds outstanding on June 30, 2025, mostly for water, wastewater and other utilities. How will new wastewater treatment costs with Portland affect sewer rates and debt?
Help decide what comes next
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