How Casper is run
Who runs Casper, 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 Casper's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 11, 2026.
Who runs Casper
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
Casper city staff
572 full-time-equivalent positions, including Sworn police 104, Fire-EMS 85. FY2026. City of Casper
The city does not post pay by employee or a salary schedule on its Human Resources pages. Wyoming has no statewide pay database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Casper 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: $46.5M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep cash equal to 120 days of budgeted general fund operating costs. For FY2026 the city calculated this reserve at $16,981,494. The policy is measured in cash, not unassigned fund balance. City of Casper · Dec 29, 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
- Sales tax (city share of state sales tax)$25.1M · 43%
- Franchise fees$5.2M · 9%
- Property tax$4.9M · 8%
- Charges to other city funds$4.5M · 8%
- State severance tax and mineral royalties$4.1M · 7%
- Interest earnings$3.4M · 6%
- Gaming revenue$2.6M · 4%
- Other$9.1M · 15%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$19.1M · 32%
- Fire-EMS$14.1M · 24%
- Transfers to other funds (dispatch, animal control, events center, transit)$5.1M · 9%
- Streets and traffic control$4.9M · 8%
- Information services$2.5M · 4%
- Community development$1.8M · 3%
- Other$11.4M · 19%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Casper levies 8 mills, the most Wyoming law allows a city. Schools get more than half of the bill.
11¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Casper
- Natrona County School District #132.5 · 45%
- State school foundation12 · 16%
- Natrona County12 · 16%
- City of Casper8 · 11%
- Casper College6.376 · 9%
- County weed and pest1 · 1%
- County senior citizen service1 · 1%
- Total (mills)72.876
2026 mill levies for a home in the city of Casper (Natrona County tax district 150). Natrona County
Who provides your services
Not everything in Casper is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityCity of Casper Police DepartmentCity of Casper
- Fire and EMSThe cityCity of Casper Fire-EMS DepartmentAll personnel are trained as firefighters and EMTs.City of Casper
- Water distributionThe cityCity of Casper Public Services DepartmentCity of Casper
- Sewer and wastewater treatmentThe cityCity of Casper Public Services DepartmentCity of Casper
- Trash collection and landfillThe cityCity of Casper Solid Waste DivisionCity of Casper
- Streets and traffic signalsThe cityCity of Casper Streets/Traffic DivisionCity of Casper
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Casper Parks, Recreation & Public Facilities DepartmentCity of Casper
- Animal control and shelterThe cityCity of Casper Metro Animal Services (Police Department)City of Casper
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 | LaramieWY | GilletteWY | CasperWY | CheyenneWY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 32,284 | 34,024 | 58,771 | 66,507 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $194,000 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | $133,277 |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | $6,000 | Not confirmed | $24,000 |
| General fund per resident | $1,423 | $1,363 | $1,003 | $1,259 |
| Debt per resident | $1,188 | $2,397 | $380 | $631 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $456 | $565 | $527 | $576 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 9.5 | 9.4 | 9.7 | 9.8 |
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 Casper publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Partly: Adopted budget posted onlineThe FY2026 adopted budget book is posted on the Finance page. The FY2027 budget was posted as a proposal in a May 2026 council packet; we found no adopted FY2027 book. City of Casper
- Yes: City manager's contract findable onlineThe city manager's employment agreement is attached, as a scanned image, to the October 21, 2025 council meeting packet. City of Casper · Oct 21, 2025
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes online City of Casper
- Partly: Council pay stated in a public document City of Casper · May 26, 2026
- No: Employee pay publishedWe found no salary schedule or pay list on the city's Human Resources pages. Wyoming has no statewide pay database. City of Casper
Questions to ask your council
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $46.5 million at June 30, 2025, against a 120-day reserve the city calculated at $17.0 million for FY2026. How much should the city hold beyond its policy?
- Sales tax is budgeted at $25.1 million, the largest general fund revenue in FY2026-27. How would the budget adjust if collections fall?
- The city's share of state pension liabilities was $31.0 million at June 30, 2025. How do rising required contribution rates affect future budgets?
The fiscal year starts July 1. The city manager gives council the tentative budget in early May (May 5, 2026), council reviews it in budget work sessions (May 26 and 27, 2026), and council holds a public hearing and adopts the budget in mid-June (June 16, 2026). See who is running for council
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