How Shelbyville is run
Who runs Shelbyville, 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 Shelbyville's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 11, 2026.
Who runs Shelbyville
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
- City-paid individual health insurance
- Reasonable out-of-pocket expenses for duties, including seminars and conferences
Shelbyville city staff
Tennessee has no statewide pay database. The city posts no current budget or salary schedule online. In June 2026 the council took up an updated pay plan. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Shelbyville 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: $13.4M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: No formal reserve target found. The council has marked $543,803 of unassigned balance as a budget reserve, with no formal limits on its use. A further $6,846,861 was assigned to the next year's budget. City of Shelbyville · Feb 20, 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 FY2024-25.
Comes from
- Property taxes$8.7M · 32%
- Local sales tax$6.7M · 24%
- Planned draw on fund balance$3.6M · 13%
- State sales tax$2.8M · 10%
- Charges for services$2.1M · 8%
- Beverage taxes$975,000 · 4%
- Business taxes$625,000 · 2%
- Investment earnings$600,000 · 2%
- Other$1.5M · 5%
Goes to (FY2024-25)
- Police$6.6M · 24%
- Fire$5.4M · 20%
- Administration$3.7M · 13%
- Streets$2.2M · 8%
- Sanitation$2.1M · 8%
- Airport$1.7M · 6%
- Recreation center$1.7M · 6%
- Other$4M · 15%
Who provides your services
Not everything in Shelbyville is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityShelbyville Police DepartmentTennessee Comptroller · Aug 18, 2026
- FireThe cityShelbyville Fire Department49 full-time and 12 part-time members in three fire stations.City of Shelbyville
- StreetsThe cityCity of Shelbyville Public WorksAbout 150 lane miles of streets.City of Shelbyville
- Trash collectionThe cityCity of Shelbyville Public WorksWeekly curbside garbage collection to about 9,000 locations.City of Shelbyville
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of ShelbyvilleCity of Shelbyville · Feb 20, 2026
- AirportThe cityCity of Shelbyville (municipal airport)City of Shelbyville · Feb 20, 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 | East RidgeTN | ShelbyvilleTN | MaryvilleTN | MorristownTN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 21,921 | 26,146 | 32,442 | 33,517 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not current (2023) | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | $12,000 | $300 | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,333 | $1,049 | $1,925 | $1,903 |
| Debt per resident | $1,197 | $485 | $2,237 | $4,683 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $120 | $12 | $-98 | $101 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 7.3 | — | 11.0 | 9.2 |
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 Shelbyville publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineMinutes refer to his contract, but we found no posted contract or pay resolution. City of Shelbyville · Apr 13, 2023
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineMinutes record roll call votes and name members who vote no. City of Shelbyville · Apr 9, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes online City of Shelbyville
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentOrdinance 2020-1110 sets mayor pay at $18,000 and council pay at $12,000 a year. City of Shelbyville · May 14, 2020
- No: Employee pay publishedThe city posts no current budget or salary schedule. Its administration page lists staff without pay. City of Shelbyville
Questions to ask your council
- General fund unassigned balance was $13,396,271 on June 30, 2025, but only $543,803 is marked as a budget reserve. What balance does the council want to keep?
- The FY2024-25 audit reported a significant deficiency in police fine receipting. What controls has the city added since?
- The latest budget on the city website is for FY2022-23. Will the city post the FY2026-27 budget online?
Fiscal year starts July 1. The city manager must prepare revenue and spending estimates by May 15. In 2026 the council passed the budget and tax rate ordinance on first reading June 2, held budget workshops June 4 and 8, and scheduled the public hearing and final reading for June 30. 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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