How Denton is run
Who runs Denton, 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 Denton's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Denton
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
- Base pay of her deputy city manager salary plus 5% while interim
- Keeps the car allowance she had as deputy city manager
- Stays in the Texas Municipal Retirement System on deputy city manager terms
- Returns to the deputy city manager job when the interim assignment ends
- Members may turn down the stipend
- The stipend must appear as a separate line in the yearly budget
Denton city staff
1,901 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 335, Fire 237, Electric utility 189. FY2026-27 proposed. General fund: 1,003.75 positions. Police 335, Fire 237. City of Denton · Aug 8, 2026
The budget lists positions by department. We found no city-published pay list by position. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Denton 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.
The city's own outlook
The city's five-year forecast shows the FY2027 general fund balanced with no use of reserves, then small yearly surpluses rising from $1.3 million in FY2028 to $5.9 million in FY2031. It assumes 5% yearly sales tax growth. Reserves stay at 20% of spending in FY2027 and rise to 23.2% by FY2031. City of Denton · Aug 8, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $42.8M (2025-09-30). The city's own target: Keep unassigned general fund balance equal to 20% of budgeted spending, plus an optional 5% resiliency reserve for downturns (25% in all). The city meets this target. City of Denton · Dec 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 FY2026-27.
Comes from
- Property tax$81.1M · 35%
- Sales tax$66.1M · 28%
- Franchise fees and payments from city utilities (ROI)$33.2M · 14%
- Transfers in (cost of service from other funds)$22.8M · 10%
- Fees for service$13.9M · 6%
- Licenses and permits$6.1M · 3%
- Other (fines, grants, interest, other taxes)$10.3M · 4%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$61.3M · 26%
- Fire$52.9M · 23%
- Non-departmental (citywide costs and transfers)$32.4M · 14%
- Parks and recreation$25.7M · 11%
- Development services$13.7M · 6%
- Economic development$7M · 3%
- Library$6.3M · 3%
- Other departments (city manager, finance, legal, HR, courts and more)$34.1M · 15%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Of each property-tax dollar a Denton homeowner in Denton ISD pays, about 30 cents goes to the city. For FY2026-27 the city cut its rate to 54.85 cents per $100, with 31.63 cents for operations and 23.21 cents for debt.
30¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Denton
- Denton ISD (schools)Operations 0.7269 plus debt 0.481.2069 · 61%
- City of Denton (operations)0.33478 · 17%
- City of Denton (debt)0.26064 · 13%
- Denton County0.185938 · 9%
- Total ($ per $100 of taxable value)1.988258
2025 tax year (FY2025-26) rates for a home in the city of Denton (Denton County, Denton ISD). Texas Comptroller · Jan 28, 2026
See what a Denton house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Denton is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityDenton Police DepartmentCity of Denton
- FireThe cityDenton Fire DepartmentCity of Denton
- ElectricityThe cityDenton Municipal Electric (city-owned)City of Denton
- WaterThe cityCity of Denton water utilityCity of Denton
- WastewaterThe cityCity of Denton wastewater utilityCity of Denton
- Solid wasteThe cityCity of Denton solid waste operations (city enterprise fund)City of Denton
- StreetsThe cityCity of Denton Public WorksCity of Denton
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Denton Parks and RecreationCity of Denton
- LibraryThe cityDenton Public Library (city)City of Denton
- AirportThe cityDenton Enterprise Airport (city-owned)City of Denton
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 | League CityTX | OdessaTX | College StationTX | DentonTX |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 119,905 | 122,707 | 127,472 | 169,431 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not current (2023) | $280,000 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | $7,200 | Not confirmed | No salary | $9,000 |
| General fund per resident | $952 | $1,275 | $1,100 | $1,378 |
| Debt per resident | $2,436 | $2,224 | $3,524 | $11,006 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $194 | $992 | $318 | $519 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 6.4 | 9.2 | 8.3 | 11.2 |
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 Denton publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted online City of Denton
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineCouncil minutes list ayes and nays by name, e.g. the June 16, 2026 meeting. City of Denton
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentCity Charter Sec. 2.02(c) sets $750 a month for council members and $1,000 for the mayor. City of Denton
- No: Employee pay publishedThe FY2027 budget lists positions by department but no pay by position. We found no city-published pay list. City of Denton
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2026-27 general fund budget leaves reserves at 20% of spending, the bottom of the city's 20% to 25% target. What would it take to reach the 25% level?
- The city's two pension plans had a combined $87.9 million net pension liability at the end of 2024. What is the plan to pay it down?
- The city has had an interim city manager since April 1, 2026. When will the council name a permanent manager, and what will the pay be?
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