How Soddy-Daisy is run
Who runs Soddy-Daisy, 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 Soddy-Daisy's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 11, 2026.
Who runs Soddy-Daisy
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
Soddy-Daisy city staff
Tennessee has no statewide pay database. The city budget shows salaries by department, not by position, and gives no employee count. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Soddy-Daisy 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: $8.2M (2025-06-30). City of Soddy-Daisy · Nov 17, 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
- Planned use of cash on hand$5.8M · 35%
- Property tax$4.3M · 26%
- Local sales tax$2.6M · 15%
- State sales tax (city share)$1.4M · 9%
- State gas and fuel tax$450,000 · 3%
- Local wholesale beer tax$320,000 · 2%
- Federal grants$300,000 · 2%
- Other (permits, fines, interest, other taxes and state aid)$1.6M · 9%
Goes to (FY2025-26)
- Police$4.7M · 28%
- Capital improvements$3.9M · 23%
- Public works$2.2M · 13%
- Fire$2.1M · 12%
- Financial administration$1.7M · 10%
- Street aid (state gas tax roads)$756,500 · 4%
- Sanitation contract$600,000 · 4%
- Other (court and legal, buildings, senior center, debt payments)$911,250 · 5%
Who provides your services
Not everything in Soddy-Daisy is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityCity of Soddy-Daisy Police DepartmentCity of Soddy-Daisy · Nov 17, 2025
- FireThe cityCity of Soddy-Daisy Fire Department (career and volunteer)City of Soddy-Daisy · Nov 17, 2025
- Trash collectionContractorCapital Waste ServicesCity of Soddy-Daisy · May 7, 2026
- StreetsThe cityCity of Soddy-Daisy Public WorksCity of Soddy-Daisy · Jun 1, 2025
- Senior centerThe cityCity of Soddy-DaisyCity of Soddy-Daisy · Jun 1, 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 Soddy-Daisy 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 onlineFebruary 18, 2021 minutes approve a terms-of-employment letter that was in the packet; the letter itself is not posted. City of Soddy-Daisy · Feb 18, 2021
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlinePosted minutes name each commissioner voting aye, such as the June 4, 2026 budget vote. City of Soddy-Daisy · Jun 4, 2026
- No: Council pay stated in a public documentThe charter sets caps of $1,000 a month for the mayor and $950 for commissioners. The budget has no line for their pay. City of Soddy-Daisy
- No: Employee pay publishedThe budget shows salary totals by department only. We found no pay schedule by position. City of Soddy-Daisy
Questions to ask your council
- In FY2024-25 the general fund balance fell only $26,787. How close does actual spending usually come to the budget?
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $8,219,790 on June 30, 2025. What reserve level does the commission want to keep?
- The city's only note, $197,638 on June 30, 2025, was due to be repaid by July 1, 2026. Does the city plan new borrowing for future projects?
Fiscal year starts July 1. The City Recorder submits the proposed budget before May 15, and the commission adopts it by ordinance before July 1 (June 4, 2026 for FY2026-27, on second reading). 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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