How Tualatin is run
Who runs Tualatin, 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 Tualatin's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 11, 2026.
Who runs Tualatin
A city manager appointed by the council runs the city day to day. The council, a mayor and six councilors all elected citywide, sets policy, adopts the budget and hires the manager.
What they are paid
- Health insurance contributions
- Council technology stipend
- Monthly utility bill discount
Tualatin city staff
167 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2026-27 adopted budget. City of Tualatin · Jun 22, 2026
The budget lists authorized positions and salary schedules by job. We found no list of pay by employee. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Tualatin 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
Unassigned general fund balance: $19M (2025-06-30). City of Tualatin · Dec 23, 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
- Beginning fund balance$16.8M · 35%
- Property taxes$13.4M · 28%
- Transfers from other funds$7.1M · 15%
- Intergovernmental$4.4M · 9%
- Franchise fees$3.5M · 7%
- Fines and forfeitures$1.1M · 2%
- Other (investment earnings, charges, licenses and permits, fees, miscellaneous)$2.1M · 4%
Goes to (FY2026-27 adopted)
- Personal services (salaries and benefits)$25.3M · 52%
- Reserves and unappropriated balance$8.7M · 18%
- Materials and services$7.5M · 15%
- Contingency$5.1M · 11%
- Capital outlay$1.6M · 3%
- Debt service$351,605 · 1%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
About 17 cents of each property-tax dollar goes to the city ($3.03 of $17.52 per $1,000), and about 2 cents more to its urban renewal areas. These are the rates in the city's audited report for the tax code that holds most of the city's assessed value; other parts of the city, including the Clackamas County part, have different rates, and Oregon's Measure 5 and Measure 50 limits can lower what an owner actually pays.
19¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Tualatin
- Tigard-Tualatin School District7.6 · 43%
- City of Tualatin (operations and bonds)3.0269 · 17%
- Washington County2.9219 · 17%
- Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue2.0574 · 12%
- Portland Community College0.6456 · 4%
- Metro0.5703 · 3%
- Tualatin urban renewal0.3041 · 2%
- Northwest Regional ESD0.1487 · <1%
- Other (aquatic district, soil and water district, Port of Portland)0.2434 · 1%
- Total ($ per $1,000 of assessed value)17.5183
FY2024-25 rates for property in the city of Tualatin (Washington County, tax code 023.76). City of Tualatin · Dec 23, 2025
Who provides your services
Not everything in Tualatin is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityTualatin Police DepartmentCity of Tualatin · Jun 22, 2026
- 911 dispatchContractorWashington County Consolidated Communications AgencyThe city contracts for police dispatch.City of Tualatin · Jun 22, 2026
- WaterThe cityCity of TualatinThe city buys its water from the City of Portland.City of Tualatin · Dec 23, 2025
- Sewer and stormwaterThe cityCity of TualatinThe city maintains the pipes; Clean Water Services and the City of Lake Oswego treat the sewage.City of Tualatin · Dec 23, 2025
- Trash and recyclingContractorRepublic ServicesCity of Tualatin · Jun 22, 2026
- StreetsThe cityCity of TualatinCity of Tualatin · Dec 23, 2025
- Parks and recreationThe cityTualatin Parks and Recreation DepartmentCity of Tualatin · Jun 22, 2026
- Municipal courtThe cityTualatin Municipal CourtCity of Tualatin · Jun 22, 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 | Forest GroveOR | WilsonvilleOR | TualatinOR | Happy ValleyOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 27,252 | 27,833 | 28,139 | 28,916 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $195,168 | $216,000 | $224,211 | $195,000 |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $2,269 | $1,768 | $1,724 | $568 |
| Debt per resident | $295 | $1,347 | $1,050 | $441 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $1,318 | $698 | $936 | $340 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 7.1 | 7.3 | 5.9 | 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). Wilsonville and Happy Valley pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Tualatin 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 Tualatin · Dec 23, 2025
- Yes: Adopted budget posted online City of Tualatin · Jun 22, 2026
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member online City of Tualatin · Jun 22, 2026
- Partly: Council pay stated in a public documentMinutes list council benefits (health insurance, a technology stipend, utility discounts) but we found no salary or dollar amounts. City of Tualatin · Jun 22, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- General fund spending was $29.1 million in FY2024-25 against $26.4 million of revenue before transfers, and the budget says spending growth is outpacing revenue. Which new revenues or service cuts will the council weigh, and when?
- Property taxes bring in $13.4 million of the FY2026-27 general fund budget, and the Budget Committee asked staff to study how to fund police services. How would the city pay for more police staffing?
- The city's share of the Oregon PERS unfunded liability was $26.3 million. How much will rising PERS rates add to general fund costs over the next few years?
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