How Elk Grove is run
Who runs Elk Grove, 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 Elk Grove's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Elk Grove
A City Manager hired by the council runs the city day to day and appoints the department heads. The mayor is elected citywide to a two-year term and the four other council members are elected by district. Fire and parks come from the Cosumnes Community Services District, not the city.
What they are paid
- Severance of 12 months' salary plus 12 months of medical premiums if asked to resign or fired without cause
- Yearly cost-of-living raise tied to the San Francisco Bay Area consumer price index
- City pays 5% of base salary into a 401(a) deferred compensation plan
- $500 a month car allowance and $100 a month phone and technology allowance
- 240 hours of annual leave a year, plus 40 hours of management leave each July 1
Elk Grove city staff
463 full-time-equivalent positions. 2026-04. Full-time employees as of April 2026, plus 29 part-time employees. This is a head count, not budgeted full-time equivalents. City of Elk Grove · Jun 10, 2026
The city posts a salary schedule with the pay range for every job class. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Elk Grove 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 general fund budget, not counting Measure E, plans $117.5M of revenue against $107.6M of spending. The city's five-year forecast shows revenue above spending in every year through FY2030-31, with the 25% economic uncertainty reserve and 5% opportunity reserve kept at target. Staff expects revenue growth to slow as the city builds out. City of Elk Grove · Jun 10, 2026
Savings
Unassigned general fund balance: $22.3M (2025-06-30). City of Elk Grove · Jan 20, 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.
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police Department (includes animal services)$75.9M · 71%
- City Manager's office$8.6M · 8%
- Finance$6.3M · 6%
- Non-departmental$4.3M · 4%
- City Attorney$2.9M · 3%
- Human Resources$2.4M · 2%
- Code enforcement$2.3M · 2%
- Other (council, clerk, grants, event sponsorships, planning, public works)$4.8M · 4%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
California caps the base property tax at 1% of assessed value; voter-approved bond rates are added on top. Of the 1% base levy, the city gets about 5.7 cents of each dollar. The county gets about 38 cents.
5¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Elk Grove
- Sacramento County (share of the 1% base levy)0.38216 · 36%
- Elk Grove Unified School District (share of the 1% base levy)0.2549 · 24%
- Cosumnes CSD fire (share of the 1% base levy)0.2013 · 19%
- City of Elk Grove (share of the 1% base levy)0.0574 · 5%
- Other agencies (share of the 1% base levy)0.04744 · 4%
- Los Rios Community College District (share of the 1% base levy)0.0364 · 3%
- Sacramento County Library (share of the 1% base levy)0.0204 · 2%
- Elk Grove Unified School District bonds0.0382 · 4%
- Los Rios Community College District bonds0.02 · 2%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.0582
FY2024-25 rates for a home in the city of Elk Grove (Sacramento County, Elk Grove Unified School District). City of Elk Grove · Jan 20, 2026
Who provides your services
Not everything in Elk Grove is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityCity of Elk Grove Police DepartmentCity of Elk Grove · Jan 20, 2026
- Parks and recreationSeparate districtCosumnes Community Services DistrictCity of Elk Grove · Jan 20, 2026
- WaterSeparate districtSacramento County Water Agency and Elk Grove Water DistrictCity of Elk Grove · Jan 20, 2026
- SewerSeparate districtSacramento Area Sewer DistrictCity of Elk Grove · Jan 20, 2026
- 911 dispatchThe cityCity of Elk Grove Police Communications BureauFire and medical calls are coordinated through the regional communications center.City of Elk Grove · Jun 10, 2026
- StreetsThe cityCity of Elk GroveCity of Elk Grove · Jan 20, 2026
- Planning, building permits and code enforcementThe cityCity of Elk GroveCity of Elk Grove · Jan 20, 2026
- DrainageThe cityCity of Elk GroveCity of Elk Grove · Jan 20, 2026
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 | Santa RosaCA | OntarioCA | Elk GroveCA | Huntington BeachCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 179,798 | 187,863 | 188,319 | 191,498 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $341,428 | Not confirmed | $332,237 | $311,750 |
| Council member pay | Not current (2022) | $30,600 | $30,600 | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,286 | $2,563 | $571 | $1,714 |
| Debt per resident | $1,367 | $5,037 | $180 | $1,805 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $2,437 | $781 | $120 | $830 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 7.0 | 8.1 | 2.5 | 5.2 |
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).
What Elk Grove 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 and earlier budgets and fact sheets are on the city's annual budget page. City of Elk Grove
- Yes: City manager's contract findable online City of Elk Grove
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineMinutes list each vote by name, such as Ayes: 5 (Singh-Allen, Suen, Brewer, Robles, Spease). City of Elk Grove · Jun 10, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes online City of Elk Grove
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe city's salary schedule lists $2,550 a month for council members and the mayor. City of Elk Grove · Aug 26, 2026
- Yes: Employee pay published City of Elk Grove · Aug 26, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $22.3M on June 30, 2025, on top of committed reserves for economic uncertainty and opportunity. How does the council decide how much to keep and how much to move to capital and economic development?
- The police department accounts for $75.9M of the $107.6M FY2026-27 general fund budget. How will the city pay for police staffing growth as revenue growth slows?
- CalPERS shows the police safety plan 89.6% funded with $17.7M unfunded on June 30, 2025. How will the city use its pension trust to close that gap?
- The FY2026-27 general fund plans $117.5M of revenue against $107.6M of spending. How much of the expected surplus will go to capital, economic development and the pension trust?
The fiscal year starts July 1. Staff gives the council a mid-year report in January or February, drafts the proposed budget in April and May, and presents it to the council. After a public hearing, the council adopted the FY2026-27 budget 5-0 on June 10, 2026. See who is running for council
Help decide what comes next
What do you want to know about Elk Grove next?
One tap, no sign-in. We count answers; we never show who chose what.
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?
See something wrong? Report an error
Something wrong or missing? Tell us what and where, with a link to a source if you have one. Reports feed the next verification run.