How Elizabethton is run
Who runs Elizabethton, 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 Elizabethton's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Elizabethton
A seven-member City Council sets policy, passes ordinances and adopts the budget and tax rate. The council appoints a city manager, who runs day-to-day operations.
What they are paid
- Severance pay section amended in May 2026; a news report says the new provision could pay up to one year's salary
Elizabethton city staff
228 full-time-equivalent positions. 2025-06-30. Full-time equivalent city employees on June 30, 2025, from the audit's statistical section. The table does not list the electric department or schools. City of Elizabethton · Dec 22, 2025
Tennessee has no statewide pay database. The budget shows salary totals by department, not pay by position. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Elizabethton 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: $6.4M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Council policy sets a minimum unassigned fund balance of 15% of the most recent approved operating budget. Money above that can go to capital projects or one-time costs. The finance department says the balance falls within the policy. City of Elizabethton · Dec 22, 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 FY2025-26.
Comes from
- Taxes (property, sales and other)$15.4M · 49%
- State and federal funds$6M · 19%
- Draws on fund balance$5.3M · 17%
- Charges for services$2.9M · 9%
- Other revenue$812,380 · 3%
- Transfers and asset sales$702,606 · 2%
- Other$214,150 · 1%
Goes to (FY2025-26)
- Parks, recreation, pool and golf$7M · 22%
- Police$5.7M · 18%
- Transfers, mostly to city schools$4.7M · 15%
- Fire$3.4M · 11%
- Streets and highways$3.1M · 10%
- Planning and development$1.8M · 6%
- Finance, accounting and fleet$1.5M · 5%
- Debt service$1.4M · 4%
- Other$2.8M · 9%
Who provides your services
Not everything in Elizabethton is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityCity of Elizabethton Police DepartmentCity of Elizabethton · Dec 22, 2025
- FireThe cityCity of Elizabethton Fire DepartmentCity of Elizabethton · Dec 22, 2025
- StreetsThe cityCity of ElizabethtonCity of Elizabethton · Dec 22, 2025
- Water and sewerThe cityCity of ElizabethtonThe city operates a water and sewer utility system.City of Elizabethton · Dec 22, 2025
- ElectricityThe cityCity of Elizabethton electric utility departmentCity of Elizabethton · Dec 22, 2025
- SchoolsThe cityElizabethton City SchoolsThe city operates its own school system, which serves about 2,600 students.City of Elizabethton · Dec 22, 2025
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of ElizabethtonCity of Elizabethton · Dec 22, 2025
- Planning and zoningThe cityCity of ElizabethtonCity of Elizabethton · Dec 22, 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 | Soddy DaisyTN | PortlandTN | AlcoaTN | ElizabethtonTN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 13,474 | 13,658 | 13,689 | 14,350 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | $1,800 |
| General fund per resident | $1,249 | $1,260 | $3,133 | $2,186 |
| Debt per resident | $15 | $3,150 | $9,582 | $2,724 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $43 | $-44 | $1,066 | $326 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | — | — | 43.1 | 15.9 |
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 Elizabethton publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Partly: Adopted budget posted online City of Elizabethton
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineThe council amended the manager's employment agreement in May 2026. We found no posted contract. City of Elizabethton · May 14, 2026
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineMinutes list each member's aye or nay vote by name. City of Elizabethton · Jun 11, 2026
- Partly: Council pay stated in a public documentThe budget shows $13,200 for council salaries. Per-member rates appear in a state fiscal note. City of Elizabethton · Jul 2, 2025
- No: Employee pay publishedThe budget shows salary totals by department, not pay by position. City of Elizabethton · Jul 2, 2025
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2025-26 general fund budget uses $5.3 million from fund balance, and the balance fell by $1,199,343 in FY2024-25. How much unassigned balance does the council plan to keep above its 15% minimum?
- The Central Service Association pension plan had $3,579,899 unfunded at September 30, 2024. What is the plan to close that gap?
- The council amended the city manager's severance terms in May 2026. Will the amended agreement and his current salary be posted online?
- The FY2026-27 budget was adopted June 11, 2026. When will it be posted with the other budgets?
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