How Adelanto is run
Who runs Adelanto, 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 Adelanto's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Adelanto
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
- Council stipends line: $77,826 budgeted in FY2026-27
Adelanto city staff
The budget lists positions by department but gives no citywide total. Police and fire staff work for San Bernardino County under contract. We found no city-published pay schedule and did not pull pay bands from the State Controller's database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Adelanto 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: $-2.4M (2024-06-30). That means every dollar the general fund has saved is set aside in a named reserve or category, not that it has no savings. City of Adelanto · Jan 31, 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 FY2026-27.
Comes from
- Vehicle license fees (property tax in lieu)$5M · 18%
- Cannabis business taxes (Measure R)$4.7M · 17%
- Licenses, permits and fees (incl. business licenses and cannabis permits)$4.1M · 15%
- Franchise fees$3.2M · 12%
- Sales tax$3.1M · 12%
- Transfers in from other funds (utilities, fire, gas tax and others)$3M · 11%
- Charges for services$2.4M · 9%
- Other (property tax, fines, interest, hotel tax, misc.)$1.5M · 6%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police (San Bernardino County Sheriff contract)$9.3M · 35%
- Fire and paramedics (San Bernardino County Fire contract)$7.5M · 28%
- Non-departmental (citywide costs)$1.5M · 5%
- Building and safety$986,758 · 4%
- Engineering$960,485 · 4%
- Finance$884,128 · 3%
- Administration (city manager's office)$757,889 · 3%
- Other (code enforcement, attorney, IT, streets, parks, clerk, council, animal control, planning and more)$4.9M · 18%
Who provides your services
Not everything in Adelanto is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceContractorSan Bernardino County Sheriff's Department (contract)City of Adelanto
- 911 responseContractorSan Bernardino County Sheriff's Department (contract)City of Adelanto
- FireContractorSan Bernardino County Fire Department (contract)City of Adelanto
- EMS / paramedicsContractorSan Bernardino County Fire Department (contract)City of Adelanto
- WaterThe cityAdelanto Public Utility Authority (city), operated with PERC Water CorporationCity of Adelanto
- SewerThe cityAdelanto Public Utility Authority (city), operated with PERC Water CorporationCity of Adelanto
- City streetsThe cityCity of Adelanto Streets DepartmentCity of Adelanto
- ParksThe cityCity of Adelanto Parks and Grounds DepartmentCity of Adelanto
- Animal controlThe cityCity of Adelanto Animal ControlCity of Adelanto
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 | San Juan CapistranoCA | MartinezCA | AdelantoCA | PacificaCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 35,331 | 36,521 | 36,652 | 37,073 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $362,100 | $282,468 | Not confirmed | $330,000 |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | $9,984 | $10,201 | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,250 | $1,083 | $731 | $1,497 |
| Debt per resident | $610 | $1,451 | $1,780 | $1,913 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $413 | $1,460 | $47 | $1,879 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 1.8 | 4.1 | — | 5.5 |
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). San Juan Capistrano and Adelanto and Pacifica pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Adelanto publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- No: Audited financial report filed on timeThe latest posted audit, for the year ended June 30, 2024, is dated January 31, 2026. It omits the management discussion and analysis. City of Adelanto
- Yes: Adopted budget posted online City of Adelanto
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineWe found no employment agreement on the city manager's page, the human resources page or the finance page. City of Adelanto
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineApproved minutes in the council agenda packets name each member's vote, e.g. the 5-0 budget vote on July 22, 2026. City of Adelanto
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes online City of Adelanto
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe city clerk's elections page lists monthly pay: $1,108.80 for the mayor and $850.08 for council members. City of Adelanto
- No: Employee pay publishedWe found no salary schedule on the city's human resources or finance pages. City of Adelanto
Questions to ask your council
- The audit for the year ended June 30, 2024 is dated January 31, 2026. When will the FY2024-25 audit be published?
- Police and fire, both county contracts, make up most of the $26.8 million general fund budget for FY2026-27. How does the city plan to cover future contract increases?
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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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