How Buena Park is run
Who runs Buena Park, 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 Buena Park's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Buena Park
A City Manager hired by the council oversees day-to-day operations and appoints department heads. The five council members, elected by district to four-year terms, set policy, pass ordinances and adopt the budget. The council also hires the City Clerk and City Attorney.
What they are paid
- Same fringe benefits as other full-time management employees
- Twelve months' base salary as severance if fired without cause
- Use of a city car for personal and official business, with fuel paid by the city
- Longevity pay of 3% of base salary with 20 years of city service; $200 a month for a master's degree
- Pays the entire employee share of CalPERS pension contributions
- City-provided cell phone and service plan
- Car allowance: $36,000 a year budgeted for the five members
- City-paid medical and dental insurance
Buena Park city staff
314 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 153, Public Works 81. FY2026-27. City of Buena Park · Jul 28, 2026
The city posts a salary schedule with pay ranges for every job title (effective July 4, 2026) and its labor agreements. We did not pull pay bands from the State Controller's database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Buena Park 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: $61.6M (2025-06-30). City of Buena Park · 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$34.7M · 32%
- Property tax$13.5M · 13%
- Vehicle license fees (state in-lieu payments)$12.6M · 12%
- Charges for services (incl. trash billing and transfers in)$12.2M · 11%
- Hotel tax (transient occupancy tax)$8.2M · 8%
- From savings (fund balance)$7.9M · 7%
- Other grants and agency payments$4.7M · 4%
- Utility users tax (gas and electric)$4.5M · 4%
- Other (franchise and business license taxes, permits, fines, interest, rents)$9.3M · 9%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$44.5M · 41%
- Public works$18.7M · 17%
- Fire and paramedics (Orange County Fire Authority contract)$16.2M · 15%
- Community services (parks and recreation)$7M · 6%
- Community development$5.3M · 5%
- Community support (homeless navigation center, tourism, events)$5.1M · 5%
- Non-departmental (insurance, debt service, transfers)$4M · 4%
- Other (council, manager, attorney, clerk, finance, HR, capital projects)$6.9M · 6%
Who provides your services
Not everything in Buena Park is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityBuena Park Police DepartmentCity of Buena Park · Dec 29, 2025
- FireContractorOrange County Fire Authority (3 stations)City of Buena Park
- Animal controlContractorSoutheast Area Animal Control Authority (SEAACA)City of Buena Park · Jul 28, 2026
- LibrarySeparate districtBuena Park Library DistrictIndependent special district with an elected five-member boardBuena Park Library District
- Streets and recreationThe cityCity of Buena ParkCity of Buena Park · Dec 29, 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 | MilpitasCA | Newport BeachCA | AlhambraCA | Buena ParkCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 82,107 | 82,306 | 82,544 | 82,850 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $350,000 | $363,071 | $347,169 | $332,426 |
| Council member pay | $10,852 | $21,374 | $13,253 | $17,676 |
| General fund per resident | $1,852 | $4,235 | $1,251 | $1,299 |
| Debt per resident | $857 | $1,094 | $145 | $1,123 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $3,071 | $2,956 | $1,664 | $673 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 5.5 | 11.4 | 5.9 | 3.8 |
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). Buena Park pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Buena Park 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 Buena Park
- Yes: City manager's contract findable online City of Buena Park
- Partly: Council votes recorded member by member onlineAdopted ordinances list each member's vote, e.g. Ordinance 1722. Minutes are in an AgendaLink web portal we could not read with a script. City of Buena Park
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentOrdinance No. 1722 sets council pay at $1,473 a month and is posted on the Human Resources page. City of Buena Park
- Yes: Employee pay publishedThe city posts a pay schedule for every job title, effective July 4, 2026, plus its labor agreements. City of Buena Park
Questions to ask your council
- Unassigned general fund balance was $61.6 million at June 30, 2025, but we found no written reserve target. Will the council adopt one?
- Sales tax brings in $34.7 million, about a third of general fund revenue. How would the budget respond to a drop in sales?
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