How Escondido is run
Who runs Escondido, 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 Escondido's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Escondido
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
- One year of base salary as severance if terminated
- City pays 7% of base salary into a deferred compensation plan
- $750 a month car allowance ($9,000 a year)
- Cafeteria health plan equal to 4% of base salary plus $125
- CalPERS pension as a PEPRA member; he pays the 7% employee share
- 11 days of management leave a year, plus vacation at the rate for 10-year employees
- $750 a month car allowance for the mayor and each council member
- The city pays retirement (CalPERS) and medical costs for council members, budgeted at $20,000 and $47,230 in FY2026-27 plus $53,400 toward the unfunded pension liability
Escondido city staff
995 full-time-equivalent positions, including Public safety 364. 2024-06-30. City of Escondido · Feb 12, 2025
The city posts its classification and compensation plan, a management salary and benefits plan, and the pay of the council and city manager. We found no city list of individual employees' pay. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Escondido 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 city says it has a structural deficit. Even with the Measure I one-cent sales tax that voters approved in November 2024 for 20 years, its long-term plan projects general fund deficits above $6 million a year, growing to $27 million by FY2042-43. The library and arts center were moved onto one-time federal relief money that expires December 31, 2026. The FY2026-27 budget is balanced with Measure I money and a one-time $2.8 million pension trust transfer. City of Escondido · Jun 17, 2026
Savings
Unassigned general fund balance: $12.7M (2024-06-30). City of Escondido · Feb 12, 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 (the city's base 1% share; Measure I is budgeted separately)$46.6M · 32%
- Property tax (including in-lieu vehicle license fees)$41.3M · 28%
- Charges for services (mostly paramedic fees)$19.9M · 14%
- Other taxes (franchise fees, hotel tax, business license)$19.4M · 13%
- State and other agencies (including Rincon fire contract)$4.8M · 3%
- Rental income$4.3M · 3%
- One-time transfer from the pension trust$2.8M · 2%
- Other (gas tax transfer, permits, investment income, fines, misc.)$7.1M · 5%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$62.5M · 43%
- Fire and emergency management (including paramedics)$31.9M · 22%
- Public works$16M · 11%
- Development services$10.5M · 7%
- Community services (parks and recreation)$5.9M · 4%
- Library$4.2M · 3%
- California Center for the Arts$2.7M · 2%
- Other (economic development, information systems, finance, city manager, clerk, council and other offices)$11.8M · 8%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
California caps the base property tax at 1% of assessed value, which is split among the county, city, schools and other agencies. Voter-approved bond rates are added on top. The city's general fund gets about 10 cents of each base-levy dollar in this tax rate area.
9¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Escondido
- School districts (share of the 1% base levy)0.71 · 62%
- San Diego County (share of the 1% base levy)0.157 · 14%
- City of Escondido general fund (share of the 1% base levy)0.103 · 9%
- All other agencies (share of the 1% base levy)0.03 · 3%
- Voter-approved debt (school and city bonds)0.15 · 13%
- Total ($ per $100 of assessed value)1.15
FY2023-24 rates for a home in Escondido tax rate area 004-013 (San Diego County). City of Escondido · Feb 12, 2025
Who provides your services
Not everything in Escondido is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityEscondido Police DepartmentCity of Escondido · Feb 12, 2025
- WaterThe cityCity of Escondido water utilityCity of Escondido · Feb 12, 2025
- Sewer and wastewater treatmentThe cityCity of Escondido wastewater utilityCity of Escondido · Feb 12, 2025
- Streets and parksThe cityCity of Escondido Public WorksCity of Escondido · Feb 12, 2025
- Recreation and senior centerThe cityCity of Escondido Community ServicesCity of Escondido · Feb 12, 2025
- Arts centerContractorCalifornia Center for the Arts, Escondido, run by the Center for the Arts Foundation under a city agreementCity of Escondido · Jun 17, 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 | VisaliaCA | EscondidoCA | PomonaCA | CoronaCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 148,302 | 152,196 | 154,680 | 159,309 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $268,462 | $326,480 | $352,820 | Not current (2023) |
| Council member pay | $14,957 | $26,941 | $9,828 | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $745 | $956 | $1,176 | $1,513 |
| Debt per resident | $587 | $1,364 | $2,350 | $1,672 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $1,090 | $1,865 | $205 | $392 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 5.0 | 6.5 | 4.2 | 5.9 |
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). Pomona pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Escondido 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 newest audited report on the city's site covers FY2023-24, dated Feb. 12, 2025. We found no FY2024-25 report posted as of October 2026. City of Escondido
- Yes: Adopted budget posted online City of Escondido
- Yes: City manager's contract findable online City of Escondido
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member online City of Escondido · Dec 4, 2024
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineCouncil meetings are broadcast live and posted on the city's meeting broadcasts page; agendas and minutes are online. City of Escondido
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentA city list states each member's monthly pay and $750 car allowance, as of January 1, 2025. City of Escondido · Jan 1, 2025
- Partly: Employee pay published City of Escondido
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2026-27 general fund budget relies on a one-time $2.8 million transfer from the pension trust. What ongoing changes would end that need?
- The city's long-term plan projects deficits above $6 million a year, growing to $27 million by FY2042-43, even with Measure I. Which options is the council weighing to close that gap?
- The newest audited financial report posted covers the year ended June 30, 2024. When will the FY2024-25 audit be published?
The fiscal year starts July 1. Budget work begins around December, and the city held two community budget workshops in April 2026. Preliminary budget information goes to the council in April or May, and the council held the public hearing to adopt the FY2026-27 budget on June 17, 2026. See who is running for council
Help decide what comes next
What do you want to know about Escondido 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.