How Springfield is run
Who runs Springfield, 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 Springfield's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Springfield
The council hires a city manager, who runs day-to-day operations and prepares the budget. Six councilors, nominated by ward and elected citywide, set policy and pass ordinances. The mayor presides at council meetings and has no executive power.
What they are paid
Springfield city staff
442 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2026-27 adopted budget. City of Springfield · Aug 1, 2026
The adopted budget lists FTE by position and fund. We found no city-published list of pay by employee. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Springfield 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 city says its general fund faces a long-term structural imbalance and a near-term deficit, because the cost of services grows faster than its main revenues under Oregon's property tax limits. A 2025 task force made nine recommendations, including a shared employee and employer payroll tax of about $2.3 million and a $500,000 library cut. City of Springfield · Dec 2, 2025
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $13.9M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep a working capital reserve covering at least five months of cash flow and a contingency reserve of 3% of general fund operating spending. The audited report says the general fund meets the council's reserve policies. City of Springfield · Dec 2, 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 adopted.
Comes from
- Taxes$29.3M · 46%
- Fund balance carried in$13.9M · 22%
- Intergovernmental$5.9M · 9%
- Charges for service$4.6M · 7%
- Other financing sources (transfers in)$4.6M · 7%
- Licenses, permits and fees$3.2M · 5%
- Other (interest, fines, miscellaneous)$2.2M · 3%
Goes to (FY2026-27 adopted)
- Police$18.5M · 29%
- Fire and life safety$15.9M · 25%
- Reserves (budgeted, not spent)$12M · 19%
- Development and public works$4.1M · 6%
- Finance$3.1M · 5%
- Library$2.1M · 3%
- Other (IT, city manager, legal, HR, contingency, transfers)$8.1M · 13%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
About 40 cents of each property-tax dollar goes to the city ($7.49 of $18.60 per $1,000). These are the rates in the city's audited report; Oregon's Measure 5 and Measure 50 limits can lower what an owner actually pays.
40¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Springfield
- Springfield School District 195.36 · 29%
- City of Springfield (permanent rate)4.55 · 24%
- Willamalane Park District2.1 · 11%
- Lane County1.96 · 11%
- City of Springfield (police levy)1.4 · 8%
- City of Springfield (bond debt)1.16 · 6%
- Lane Community College0.9 · 5%
- Springfield Economic Development Agency (urban renewal)0.51 · 3%
- City of Springfield (fire levy)0.38 · 2%
- Lane Education Service District0.21 · 1%
- Upper Willamette Soil and Water District0.07 · <1%
- Total ($ per $1,000 of assessed value)18.6
FY2024-25 rates for property in the city of Springfield (Lane County). City of Springfield · Dec 2, 2025
Who provides your services
Not everything in Springfield is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe citySpringfield Police DepartmentCity of Springfield · Dec 2, 2025
- Fire protectionThe citySpringfield Fire & Life Safety (city department)City of Springfield · Dec 2, 2025
- Ambulance (EMS)The cityCity of Springfield, through its Ambulance FundCity of Springfield · Dec 2, 2025
- Sewer and stormwaterThe cityCity of SpringfieldCity of Springfield · Dec 2, 2025
- LibraryThe citySpringfield Public Library (city department)City of Springfield · Dec 2, 2025
- StreetsThe cityCity of Springfield, through its Street FundCity of Springfield · Aug 1, 2026
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 | AlbanyOR | TigardOR | SpringfieldOR | CorvallisOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 56,894 | 57,929 | 61,431 | 61,499 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $237,770 | $220,000 | Not confirmed | $233,198 |
| Council member pay | $1,560 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | No salary |
| General fund per resident | $2,151 | $841 | $1,039 | $3,065 |
| Debt per resident | $1,329 | $2,108 | $475 | $283 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $1,184 | $255 | $1,043 | $1,126 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 7.2 | 6.1 | 7.2 | 8.7 |
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).
What Springfield 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 Springfield
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineWe found no posted contract or amendment. Council packets since November 2024 are requested through a form on the city's site. City of Springfield
- No: Council votes recorded member by member onlineWe found no posted minutes with member votes. Council packets since November 2024 are requested through a form. City of Springfield
- No: Council pay stated in a public documentThe budget shows a Mayor & Council program total, but we found no document stating the mayor's or councilors' pay. City of Springfield · Apr 20, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The 2025 Fiscal Stability Task Force proposed a shared employee and employer payroll tax to raise about $2.3 million. Will the council put it forward, and with what limits?
- The FY2026-27 general fund budget sets aside $11,978,412 in reserves and a $1,500,000 contingency while the city reports a near-term deficit. How long can those reserves cover the gap?
- The city's share of the Oregon PERS net pension liability was $64.1 million on June 30, 2025. How will rising PERS rates affect the general fund?
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $13.9 million on June 30, 2025. How much should go to the deferred maintenance the budget calls a growing liability?
The fiscal year starts July 1. The city manager presents the proposed budget to the Budget Committee, the council plus an equal number of residents, in the spring (April or May). The council holds a budget hearing in June and adopts the budget by resolution before July 1. See who is running for council
Help decide what comes next
What do you want to know about Springfield 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.