How Foster City is run
Who runs Foster City, 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 Foster City's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Foster City
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
- Twelve months' base salary and health benefits as severance if fired without cause
- City puts 10% of his base salary into a 401(a) or 457 retirement savings account if he contributes at least 1%
- $3,600 a month housing allowance for a home in Foster City, rising each year with housing inflation
- Instead of the allowance, the option of a city home loan of up to $2.5 million on a 30-year term
- $600 a month car allowance
- Same benefits as city department heads under the management compensation plan
- Eligible for city benefits such as medical and dental insurance
Foster City city staff
204 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2026-27. 188 full-time positions plus part-time staff. Firefighters work for the San Mateo Consolidated Fire Department and are not counted. City of Foster City · Jun 15, 2026
The city posts a pay plan 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 Foster City 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's five-year plan says general fund revenue and spending are stable and in balance, but yearly transfers to capital projects create deficits of $4.23M in FY2026-27, growing to $5.73M. Reserves are forecast to fall from 85.4% of next year's spending to 44.8% in FY2030-31, below the council's 50% minimum. City of Foster City · Jun 15, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $71.1M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Council policy keeps general fund reserves of at least 50% of annual operating expenditures. The FY2026-27 budget forecast an 85.4% reserve entering the year. City of Foster City and Estero Municipal Improvement District: FY2024-25 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Balance Sheet, Governmental Funds · Dec 22, 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$38.9M · 54%
- Building and other permits$4.6M · 6%
- Hotel tax (transient occupancy tax)$4M · 6%
- Excess ERAF (property tax returned from the state schools fund)$4M · 6%
- Property tax in lieu of vehicle license fees$3.8M · 5%
- Business license tax$3.8M · 5%
- Sales tax$3.7M · 5%
- Other (interest, franchise fees, recreation fees, rentals, other)$8.9M · 12%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police (incl. 911 dispatch)$21.1M · 30%
- Parks and recreation$14.2M · 20%
- Fire (San Mateo Consolidated Fire Department)$14.1M · 20%
- Public works$6.5M · 9%
- Community development$5M · 7%
- Other (administration, manager, finance, clerk, attorney, library, council)$9.5M · 13%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
The city's own voter-approved rate repays its levee bonds. Its share of the 1% base levy is not broken out here. Some parts of the city may fall in other school districts with different bond rates.
2¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Foster City
- 1% base levy (shared by the county, the city, schools and other agencies)1 · 87%
- Foster City levee bonds0.0288 · 2%
- San Mateo-Foster City School District bonds0.061 · 5%
- San Mateo Union High School District bonds0.0445 · 4%
- Community college district bonds0.0178 · 2%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.1521
FY2024-25 rates for a Foster City home (San Mateo County). City of Foster City and Estero Municipal Improvement District: FY2024-25 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Statistical Section, Property Tax Rates, Direct and Overlapping Governments, p. 179 · Dec 22, 2025
Who provides your services
Not everything in Foster City is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- Fire and emergency medical servicesAnother agencySan Mateo Consolidated Fire Department (joint powers authority)A joint fire department of Foster City, the Belmont Fire Protection District and the City of San Mateo.City of Foster City and Estero Municipal Improvement District: FY2024-25 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Letter of Transmittal · Dec 22, 2025
- WaterSeparate districtEstero Municipal Improvement District (the City Council sits as its board)City of Foster City · Jun 15, 2026
- Sewer and wastewater treatmentSeparate districtEstero Municipal Improvement DistrictCity of Foster City · Jun 15, 2026
- LibraryAnother agencySan Mateo County Library (Foster City branch)City of Foster City · Jun 15, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Foster City Parks and RecreationCity of Foster City and Estero Municipal Improvement District: FY2024-25 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Letter of Transmittal · Dec 22, 2025
- Streets, storm drains, lagoon and leveesThe cityCity of Foster City Public WorksCity of Foster City and Estero Municipal Improvement District: FY2024-25 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Letter of Transmittal · Dec 22, 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 Foster City publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe final two-year budget for FY2026-27 and FY2027-28, with a five-year financial plan, is posted on the city's website. City of Foster City · Jun 15, 2026
- Yes: City manager's contract findable online City of Foster City · Jun 1, 2026
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe city's City Council page states councilmembers receive $496 a month, plus $25 per EMID board meeting. City of Foster City
- Yes: Employee pay published City of Foster City / EMID · Jul 1, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The five-year plan forecasts general fund reserves falling from 85.4% of spending to 44.8% in FY2030-31, below the 50% minimum. Which changes will the council weigh first to stay above it?
- Yearly transfers to capital projects create general fund deficits of $4.23M in FY2026-27, growing to $5.73M. How will the council pay for capital work after FY2030-31?
- Fire service through the San Mateo Consolidated Fire Department costs $14.1M in FY2026-27,. How does the council review that cost each year?
The fiscal year starts July 1. Work on the city's first two-year budget began at the council retreat on February 10, 2026, followed by a study session May 19 and a public hearing June 1. The council adopted the FY2026-27 and FY2027-28 budget on June 15, 2026, on a 5-0 vote. See who is running for council
Help decide what comes next
What do you want to know about Foster City 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.