How East Ridge is run
Who runs East Ridge, 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 East Ridge's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 11, 2026.
Who runs East Ridge
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
- Reimbursement of actual and necessary expenses of office
East Ridge city staff
161 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2026-27. City of East Ridge · Jun 1, 2026
Tennessee has no statewide pay database. The budget shows salaries by department, not by position. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is East Ridge 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: $10.7M (2025-06-30). City of East Ridge · Feb 27, 2026
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.
Comes from
- Border Region sales tax (state sales tax increment)$9M · 31%
- Property tax$7.4M · 25%
- Local option sales tax$5.4M · 18%
- State shared sales tax$2.8M · 10%
- Other miscellaneous revenue$1.7M · 6%
- Alcohol taxes$650,000 · 2%
- Business tax$449,500 · 2%
- Other$1.8M · 6%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Transfers to other funds (debt service, Border Region incentives, capital)$7.8M · 27%
- Police$7.8M · 27%
- Fire$4.2M · 14%
- Administration$3M · 10%
- Recreation$2.7M · 9%
- Public works$1M · 3%
- Other (court, codes, animal services, buildings, library, transportation)$2.5M · 9%
Who provides your services
Not everything in East Ridge is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityEast Ridge Police DepartmentCity of East Ridge · Feb 27, 2026
- FireThe cityEast Ridge Fire RescueCity of East Ridge · Feb 27, 2026
- Animal controlThe cityEast Ridge Animal ServicesCity of East Ridge · Feb 27, 2026
- TrashThe cityEast Ridge Sanitation DepartmentCity of East Ridge · Feb 27, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityEast Ridge Parks & Recreation DepartmentCity of East Ridge · Feb 27, 2026
- StreetsThe cityEast Ridge Street DepartmentCity of East Ridge · Feb 27, 2026
- LibraryThe cityEast Ridge City LibraryCity of East Ridge
- Municipal courtThe cityEast Ridge Municipal CourtCity of East Ridge
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 | DyersburgTN | GoodlettsvilleTN | East RidgeTN | ShelbyvilleTN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 15,906 | 17,506 | 21,921 | 26,146 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | $12,000 |
| General fund per resident | $2,086 | $1,289 | $1,333 | $1,049 |
| Debt per resident | $1,201 | $583 | $1,197 | $485 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $1,072 | $213 | $120 | $12 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | — | 7.5 | 7.3 | — |
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 East Ridge publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlinePosted minutes list each member's roll call vote, such as the vote adopting the FY2027 budget on June 25, 2026. City of East Ridge · Jun 1, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineCouncil minutes are posted by month, and meeting videos are archived on the city's YouTube channel. City of East Ridge
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe city charter sets the mayor's salary at $12,000 and each council member's at $7,200 a year. City of East Ridge
- No: Employee pay publishedThe budget lists salaries by department and position counts, but no pay by position was found on the city's site. City of East Ridge · Jun 1, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2027 general fund budget counts on $9,000,000 in Border Region sales tax, the largest single revenue line. What happens to the budget if that revenue falls?
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $10,705,660 on June 30, 2025. Should the council adopt a written reserve target?
- The new City Manager's contract was approved on March 26, 2026. Will the city post the agreement and its salary online?
Fiscal year starts July 1. The City Manager presents the proposed budget in late May (May 28, 2026). First reading is in mid-June and a public hearing and second reading follow later in June (June 25, 2026 for FY2027). See who is running for council
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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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