How Milwaukie is run
Who runs Milwaukie, 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 Milwaukie's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 11, 2026.
Who runs Milwaukie
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
Milwaukie city staff
163 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2026-27 adopted budget (BN 2027-2028). City of Milwaukie · Jun 2, 2026
125.25 of the positions are in the General Fund. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Milwaukie 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 General Fund is balanced through the two-year budget, but the city's five-year forecast shows it going into the red in year three (FY2028-29), with an ending balance of -$101,000 that year. The adopted budget does not meet the city's 25% General Fund reserve target. The city manager says the city will very likely need to ask voters for a property tax increase to keep current services. City of Milwaukie · Jun 2, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $10.6M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: City policy says General Fund undesignated reserves should be about 25% of General Fund operating expenditures. The city manager says the adopted two-year budget does not meet that target and the city will develop a plan to restore reserves. City of Milwaukie · Dec 24, 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 BN2027-28 adopted (two years).
Comes from
- Property taxes$22.6M · 32%
- Transfers from other funds$17.5M · 24%
- Beginning fund balance$9.6M · 13%
- Right-of-way and franchise fees (PGE, NW Natural, solid waste, telecom, cable)$8.1M · 11%
- Library district levy$4.7M · 7%
- Public safety fee$1.9M · 3%
- State revenue sharing$1.6M · 2%
- Other (fines, permits, grants, interest, miscellaneous)$5.7M · 8%
Goes to (BN2027-28 adopted (two years))
- Police$21.6M · 30%
- Library$6M · 8%
- Facilities management$5.7M · 8%
- Finance$4.1M · 6%
- Information technology$4.1M · 6%
- Contingency and unappropriated ending balance$3.6M · 5%
- Climate and natural resources$3.2M · 4%
- General government (debt service, insurance, transfers)$3.1M · 4%
- Other departments (engineering, city manager, planning, fleet, HR, court, council and more)$20.3M · 28%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
About 21 cents of each property-tax dollar goes to the city ($4.37 of $21.16 per $1,000). The city's permanent rate is $6.54, but $2.40 of it is shifted to the fire district under a 2005 voter measure. The audited report rounds the total to $21.17. Oregon's Measure 5 and Measure 50 limits can lower what an owner actually pays.
21¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Milwaukie
- North Clackamas School District8.69 · 41%
- City of Milwaukie (permanent rate and bonds, net of the fire district offset)4.3733 · 21%
- Clackamas County3.34 · 16%
- Clackamas Fire District No. 13 · 14%
- Clackamas Community College0.8 · 4%
- North Clackamas Parks and Recreation District0.54 · 3%
- Clackamas Education Service District0.37 · 2%
- Other0.05 · <1%
- Total ($ per $1,000 of assessed value)21.1633
FY2024-25 rates for property in the city of Milwaukie (Clackamas County). City of Milwaukie · Dec 24, 2025
See what a Milwaukie home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Milwaukie is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityCity of MilwaukieCity of Milwaukie · Dec 24, 2025
- Fire and emergency medical servicesSeparate districtClackamas Fire District No. 1Voters approved joining the district in 2005.City of Milwaukie · Dec 24, 2025
- 911 dispatchAnother agencyCity of Lake OswegoBy intergovernmental agreement.City of Milwaukie · Dec 24, 2025
- SewerThe cityCity of MilwaukieCity of Milwaukie · Dec 24, 2025
- StormwaterThe cityCity of MilwaukieCity of Milwaukie · Dec 24, 2025
- StreetsThe cityCity of MilwaukieCity of Milwaukie · Dec 24, 2025
- LibraryThe cityCity of MilwaukiePartly funded by the countywide library district.City of Milwaukie · Dec 24, 2025
- Municipal courtThe cityCity of MilwaukieCity of Milwaukie · Dec 24, 2025
- Parks and recreationSeparate districtNorth Clackamas Parks and Recreation DistrictCity of Milwaukie · Dec 24, 2025
- TransitAnother agencyTriMetLight rail and bus service.City of Milwaukie · Dec 24, 2025
- Planning and building permitsThe cityCity of MilwaukieCity of Milwaukie · Dec 24, 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 | AshlandOR | Klamath FallsOR | MilwaukieOR | RoseburgOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 20,889 | 22,111 | 22,114 | 23,693 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | $226,455 | Not confirmed | $199,884 |
| Council member pay | Not current (2023) | $600 | $3,684 | No salary |
| General fund per resident | $2,276 | $10,153 | $3,241 | $2,102 |
| Debt per resident | $1,166 | $2,465 | $2,426 | $89 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $1,754 | $801 | $961 | $1,078 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 13.0 | 7.2 | 7.4 | 7.5 |
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). Klamath Falls and Milwaukie pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Milwaukie publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe adopted BN 2027-2028 budget is posted as a PDF, including the adopting resolution and a five-year forecast. City of Milwaukie · Jun 2, 2026
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineWe found no employment agreement on the city website. The city publishes a City Manager salary range. City of Milwaukie
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe adopted budget states the stipends: $369 a month for the mayor and $307 a month for councilors. City of Milwaukie · Jun 2, 2026
- Yes: Employee pay published City of Milwaukie
Questions to ask your council
- The general fund spent $8.5 million more than it took in during FY2024-25 and relied on $7.0 million of transfers from other funds. How much should utility and other funds keep paying into the General Fund?
- The five-year forecast shows the General Fund ending balance at -$101,000 in FY2028-29. Which services would the city cut, and which would it put to voters as a tax increase?
- Unassigned general fund balance was $10.6 million on June 30, 2025, and the city's share of the Oregon PERS pension liability was $21.2 million. How should reserves be rebuilt to the 25% target?
- The city owed $53.7 million of debt on June 30, 2025, much of it for transportation. How will the debt payments fit alongside rising police and personnel costs?
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