How McMinnville is run
Who runs McMinnville, 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 McMinnville's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs McMinnville
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
- Deferred compensation contribution of 8% of salary
McMinnville city staff
184 full-time-equivalent positions, including General fund departments 138, Wastewater services 23, Streets 12, Building 5, Information systems 4, Airport 1, Affordable housing 1. FY2026-27. City of McMinnville · May 28, 2026
Fire and ambulance staff moved to the new McMinnville Fire District on July 1, 2024. The budget posts salary ranges by job class, not pay by employee. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is McMinnville 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: $2.9M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep unassigned general fund balance at two months of budgeted operating expenses. City of McMinnville · Dec 30, 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 (proposed).
Comes from
- Property taxes$18.5M · 54%
- Licenses, permits and franchise fees$5M · 15%
- Charges for services$3.6M · 10%
- Transfers in from other funds$2.9M · 8%
- Intergovernmental$1.7M · 5%
- Fund balance used$1.4M · 4%
- Other (court fines, interest, donations and other)$1.4M · 4%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$12.7M · 36%
- Parks and recreation$3.5M · 10%
- Administration$3.3M · 9%
- Park maintenance$2.9M · 8%
- Library$2.7M · 8%
- Community development$2.2M · 6%
- Engineering$1.9M · 5%
- Other (contingency, transfers, finance, court, debt and other)$5.5M · 16%
Who provides your services
Not everything in McMinnville is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityMcMinnville Police DepartmentCity of McMinnville
- Fire and EMSSeparate districtMcMinnville Fire DistrictCity of McMinnville
- 911 dispatchAnother agencyYamhill Communications Agency (YCOM)City of McMinnville
- Water and electricityThe cityMcMinnville Water and LightCity-owned utility run by the Water and Light Commission.City of McMinnville
- SewerThe cityCity of McMinnville Public WorksCity of McMinnville
- StreetsThe cityCity of McMinnville Public WorksCity of McMinnville
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of McMinnville Parks and RecreationCity of McMinnville
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 | McminnvilleOR | Oregon CityOR | RedmondOR | KeizerOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 34,647 | 38,175 | 38,547 | 39,140 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | $203,592 | $218,397 | $182,915 |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | No salary | Not confirmed | No salary |
| General fund per resident | $1,006 | $2,218 | $1,353 | $452 |
| Debt per resident | $515 | $527 | $2,648 | $188 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $859 | $741 | $898 | $538 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 5.3 | 5.9 | 7.0 | 2.7 |
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). Mcminnville and Oregon City and Redmond pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What McMinnville 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 McMinnville · Jun 24, 2026
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineAdopted resolutions list each councilor voting aye or nay, as on the FY2026-27 budget resolution. City of McMinnville · Jun 23, 2026
- No: Council pay stated in a public documentThe budget for the Mayor and City Council lists no pay for the mayor or councilors. Its only wages are for the City Recorder. City of McMinnville · Jun 24, 2026
- Partly: Employee pay published City of McMinnville · May 1, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $2,873,807 on June 30, 2025, against a target of two months of operating costs. How will the city rebuild them?
- Police is $12.7 million of the $34.9 million FY2026-27 general fund. How will rising personnel costs be covered?
- The city's share of the Oregon PERS net pension liability was $29.8 million on June 30, 2025. How will rising PERS rates affect the budget?
Help decide what comes next
What do you want to know about McMinnville 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.