How Burlingame is run
Who runs Burlingame, 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 Burlingame's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Burlingame
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
- Six months' pay if fired without cause while willing and able to work
- Same retirement, medical, dental, vision, disability and life insurance benefits as city department heads
- 25 vacation days a year
- City pays for membership in one Burlingame service club
Burlingame city staff
237 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2026-27. City of Burlingame · Jun 15, 2026
The city posts merit and casual salary schedules with pay ranges for every job class. We did not pull pay bands from the State Controller's database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Burlingame 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 FY2026-27 budget projects $96.1M of general fund revenue against $99.4M of spending and transfers, a $3.3M draw on reserves, leaving about $0.9M of unassigned balance. The city's forecast says the general fund will keep drawing down reserves for the next few years, with one-time draws from other sources such as the retiree health (OPEB) trust planned for FY2027-28 through FY2030-31. City of Burlingame · Jun 15, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $8M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Council policy sets an Economic Stability Reserve of 24% of general fund revenues (more than $23.1M for FY2026-27), a $2M Catastrophic Reserve and a $500,000 Contingency Reserve. These are held as assigned fund balance, separate from the unassigned balance. City of Burlingame · Nov 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$37.7M · 39%
- Hotel tax (transient occupancy tax)$23M · 24%
- Sales and use tax$16.9M · 18%
- Charges for services$7.8M · 8%
- Other taxes (franchise, business license, property transfer)$4.4M · 5%
- Interest income$3.3M · 3%
- Other (rents, fines, state aid, permits, misc.)$3M · 3%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police (incl. 911 dispatch and parking enforcement)$24.5M · 26%
- Fire (Central County Fire Department)$19.2M · 21%
- Parks$12.3M · 13%
- Public works (engineering, streets, storm drains)$10M · 11%
- Library$7.5M · 8%
- Recreation (incl. aquatic center)$7.1M · 8%
- Other (finance, planning, HR, city manager, attorney, clerk, council)$12.3M · 13%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
The city collects no voter-approved bond rate of its own. Its revenue comes from its share of the 1% base levy, which this table does not break out. School bond rates depend on which district a home is in.
0¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Burlingame
- 1% base levy (shared by the county, the city, schools and other agencies)1 · 85%
- Elementary school district bonds0.1107 · 9%
- High school district bonds0.0445 · 4%
- Community college district bonds0.0178 · 2%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.173
FY2024-25 rates for a Burlingame home (San Mateo County). City of Burlingame · Nov 17, 2025
See what a Burlingame house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Burlingame is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityBurlingame Police DepartmentCity of Burlingame · Nov 17, 2025
- Fire and emergency medical servicesAnother agencyCentral County Fire Department (joint powers authority)A joint fire department formed by Burlingame and Hillsborough, which also serves Millbrae by contract. Burlingame's cost rose 14.0% (about $2.3M) in FY2026-27.City of Burlingame · Jun 15, 2026
- Trash and recyclingAnother agencySouth Bayside Waste Management AuthorityA joint powers authority of which the city is a member; it contracts with private vendors for collection and disposal.City of Burlingame · Nov 17, 2025
- LibraryThe cityBurlingame Public LibraryCity of Burlingame · Nov 17, 2025
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of BurlingameCity of Burlingame · Nov 17, 2025
- Streets and storm drainsThe cityCity of Burlingame Public WorksCity of Burlingame · Nov 17, 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 | BanningCA | Foster CityCA | GoletaCA | BurlingameCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 32,323 | 32,364 | 32,409 | 32,438 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $311,955 | $365,448 | $342,035 | $349,312 |
| Council member pay | $11,400 | $5,952 | $68,768 | $11,742 |
| General fund per resident | $1,021 | $2,173 | $1,900 | $2,863 |
| Debt per resident | $1,296 | $6,529 | $1,310 | $2,929 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $1,527 | $2,790 | $162 | $2,682 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 6.3 | 3.9 | 7.3 |
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). Banning and Foster City and Goleta and Burlingame pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Burlingame publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe adopted FY2026-27 budget, budget in brief and mid-year reports are posted on the city's Budget Information page. City of Burlingame
- Yes: City manager's contract findable online City of Burlingame · Dec 1, 2025
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineAdopted resolutions list each member's vote, e.g. the 3-0 vote adopting the FY2026-27 budget with two members absent. City of Burlingame · Jun 15, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineThe city's agendas and minutes page posts council meeting videos by date, with agendas and minutes. City of Burlingame
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public document City of Burlingame · Jun 29, 2026
- Yes: Employee pay publishedThe city posts merit and casual salary schedules with pay steps for every job class, including the City Manager. City of Burlingame · Jun 29, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2026-27 budget draws $3.3M from general fund reserves and leaves about $0.9M unassigned, and the forecast expects further draws through FY2030-31. Which spending or revenue changes will the council weigh first?
- Hotel tax is budgeted at $23.0M for FY2026-27, about a quarter of general fund revenue. How would the budget change if hotel stays fall again?
- The city's two CalPERS plans were $87.0M short at June 30, 2025, and FY2026-27 is the third year the city has paused payments into its pension trust. When will those payments resume?
- Fire service through the Central County Fire Department costs $19.2M in FY2026-27. How does the council review that cost before it adopts each budget?
The fiscal year starts July 1. The council reviewed the mid-year report on March 11, held a budget study session May 19, and adopted the budget after a public hearing on June 15, 2026, on a 3-0 vote with two members absent. See who is running for council
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