How Clinton is run
Who runs Clinton, 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 Clinton's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 11, 2026.
Who runs Clinton
A seven-member City Council, including the mayor, passes ordinances and adopts the budget. The council hires the city manager, who runs day-to-day operations and appoints department heads.
What they are paid
Clinton city staff
382 full-time-equivalent positions, including City departments 116, Schools 138, Clinton Utilities Board 128. 2025-06-30. City of Clinton · Dec 30, 2025
Tennessee has no statewide pay database. The audit gives staff counts by function, not pay by position. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Clinton 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: $7.1M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Council policy sets a minimum unassigned fund balance equal to 20% of general fund expenditures. The audit says the unassigned balance was 38.0% of general fund expenditures, including transfers out, on June 30, 2025. City of Clinton · 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 FY2024-25 (actual).
Comes from
- Local option sales taxes$5.5M · 33%
- City property taxes$3.8M · 23%
- Federal grants$1.8M · 11%
- State sales taxes$1.3M · 8%
- State grants and other funding$890,647 · 5%
- Business taxes$557,312 · 3%
- Payments in lieu of taxes$402,094 · 2%
- Other$2.3M · 14%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Rates from the city's audit for FY2024-25. After the 2025 reappraisal the city rate was reset to about 53 cents.
25¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Clinton
- City of Clinton0.8646 · 25%
- Anderson County2.6016 · 75%
- Total ($ per $100 of assessed value)3.4662
Tax year 2024 rates for a property in the city of Clinton (Anderson County). City of Clinton · Dec 30, 2025
Who provides your services
Not everything in Clinton is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityCity of Clinton Police DepartmentCity of Clinton · Dec 30, 2025
- FireThe cityCity of Clinton Fire DepartmentCity of Clinton · Dec 30, 2025
- ElectricityThe cityClinton Utilities Board (city-owned)Run by a board the council appoints; not separate from the city.City of Clinton · Dec 30, 2025
- Water and sewerThe cityClinton Utilities Board (city-owned)City of Clinton · Dec 30, 2025
- Trash collectionThe cityCity of ClintonCity of Clinton · Dec 30, 2025
- StreetsThe cityCity of ClintonCity of Clinton · Dec 30, 2025
- LibraryThe cityCity of ClintonCity of Clinton · Dec 30, 2025
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of ClintonCity of Clinton · Dec 30, 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 | ClintonTN | ParisTN | Union CityTN | FairviewTN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 10,466 | 10,468 | 10,814 | 10,877 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | $157,200 |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,545 | $3,110 | $1,791 | $1,334 |
| Debt per resident | $704 | $236 | $1,235 | $958 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $-457 | $-82 | $83 | $186 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 36.5 | 13.5 | — | — |
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).
What Clinton publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- No: Adopted budget posted onlineWe could not open the city's website with our tools and found no budget document elsewhere. Budget totals here come from a news report. The Courier News · May 27, 2026
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineWe found no posted contract or salary for the city manager. The Courier News · Oct 25, 2023
- No: Council votes recorded member by member onlineWe could not open the minutes on the city's website with our tools. News reports describe council votes. The Courier News · Jun 25, 2025
- No: Meeting videos and minutes onlineWe could not open the city's website with our tools to confirm posted minutes or videos. The Courier News · Jun 25, 2025
- No: Council pay stated in a public documentWe found no readable document stating council or mayor pay. City of Clinton · Dec 30, 2025
- No: Employee pay publishedThe audit gives staff counts by function, not pay by position. City of Clinton · Dec 30, 2025
Questions to ask your council
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $7,054,074 on June 30, 2025, or 38.0% of spending against a 20% minimum. How much above the minimum does the council plan to keep?
- The general fund spent $1,416,442 more than it took in during FY2024-25, including $3,730,015 in capital outlay. Which capital projects are planned next?
- Debt was $7,371,000 on June 30, 2025, mostly electric system bonds, and city-issued debt is on track to be paid off in FY2025-26. Is new city borrowing planned?
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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?
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