How Anaheim is run
Who runs Anaheim, 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 Anaheim's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Anaheim
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
Anaheim city staff
2,119 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 616, Fire & Rescue 355, Public Utilities 353. FY2024-25. Full-time employees in 2025, from the city's audited report. City of Anaheim · Dec 23, 2025
Council resolutions set salary ranges by job title. We did not pull pay bands from the State Controller's database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Anaheim 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: $85.9M (2025-06-30). City of Anaheim · Dec 23, 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.
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Most of the bill is the 1% base levy that the state constitution caps; the county splits it among local agencies, and in the city's largest tax rate area the city's share is about 10.9%. On top come voter-approved school and college bond rates and a Metropolitan Water District rate. Not every rate applies to every property in the city.
0¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Anaheim
- 1% base levy (shared by the county, schools, the city and special districts)1 · 91%
- Anaheim elementary school district bonds0.04223 · 4%
- Anaheim Union High School District bonds0.03256 · 3%
- North Orange County Community College District bonds0.01735 · 2%
- Metropolitan Water District0.007 · <1%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.09914
FY2024-25 rates for a home in Anaheim (Orange County), from the city's audited report. City of Anaheim · Dec 23, 2025
See what a Anaheim house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Anaheim is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityAnaheim Police DepartmentCity of Anaheim
- FireThe cityAnaheim Fire & Rescue (11 stations)City of Anaheim
- Ambulance transportThe cityAnaheim Fire & Rescue (Anaheim Emergency Transportation program)City of Anaheim
- ElectricityThe cityAnaheim Public Utilities (city-owned electric utility)City of Anaheim
- WaterThe cityAnaheim Public Utilities (city water utility)City of Anaheim
- Trash, street sweeping and sewer cleaningThe cityCity of Anaheim sanitation utility (Public Works)City of Anaheim
- LibrariesThe cityAnaheim Public Library (Central Library and six branches)City of Anaheim
- Parks, community centers and golf coursesThe cityCity of Anaheim Community ServicesCity of Anaheim
- City streetsThe cityCity of Anaheim Public WorksCity of Anaheim
- Convention center and stadiumThe cityCity of Anaheim Convention, Sports & Entertainment (Anaheim Convention Center, Angel Stadium, ARTIC)City of Anaheim
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 | IrvineCA | RiversideCA | StocktonCA | AnaheimCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 317,744 | 321,884 | 322,436 | 340,433 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $434,242 | $405,696 | $390,277 | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | $10,560 | $45,732 | $30,833 | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $982 | $1,191 | $1,068 | $1,685 |
| Debt per resident | $1,048 | $5,627 | $1,377 | $5,185 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $533 | $1,209 | $2,061 | $2,444 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 3.5 | 8.5 | 5.6 | 6.2 |
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). Irvine pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Anaheim 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 Anaheim · Jun 23, 2026
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineThe interim manager was appointed in closed session Feb. 24, 2026. We found no posted agreement or pay terms in council agendas or the clerk's records. City of Anaheim · Feb 24, 2026
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineCouncil minutes list each roll-call vote by name, e.g. the 7-0 vote adopting the FY2026-27 budget on June 23, 2026. City of Anaheim · Jun 23, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineThe city's Granicus page posts council meeting video, agendas, action agendas and minutes by date. City of Anaheim
- Yes: Employee pay publishedCouncil resolutions in agenda packets set salary ranges by job title, e.g. City Manager $272,176 to $449,090 a year from April 24, 2026. City of Anaheim · Apr 21, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The city's three CalPERS pension plans were $832.0 million short at June 30, 2025. How much of the city's yearly payments goes to paying down that shortfall?
The fiscal year starts July 1. The proposed FY2026-27 budget was released May 29, 2026; the Budget, Investment and Technology Commission reviewed it June 3 and 10, the council held workshops June 9 and 23, and it adopted the budget 7-0 after a public hearing on June 23, 2026. 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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