How Fountain Valley is run
Who runs Fountain Valley, 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 Fountain Valley's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Fountain Valley
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' base salary as severance if fired without cause
- City car for business and personal use, with the city paying its costs
- City matches up to $250 a month into her deferred compensation account
- City pays full medical and dental premiums for her and her dependents
- City-paid $500,000 term life insurance policy
- Up to 12 days of administrative leave a year
- No city-paid pension or insurance premiums for council members in the 2024 compensation report
Fountain Valley city staff
269 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2026-27. City of Fountain Valley · Jun 3, 2025
The city posts a master salary schedule with pay ranges for every job title and yearly compensation reports with pay and benefits by position. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Fountain Valley 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 against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $22.5M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep a General Fund Emergency Contingency Reserve equal to 25% of general fund spending, excluding capital outlay, from the latest audit. The city holds it as committed fund balance ($17.1 million at June 30, 2025), separate from the unassigned balance. It can be used only with council approval for emergencies. The city meets this target. City of Fountain Valley · Dec 15, 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 taxes$27.2M · 31%
- Measure HH sales tax (1%, ends 2037)$17.5M · 20%
- Sales tax$16.7M · 19%
- Fire and ambulance fees$7.1M · 8%
- Intergovernmental$3.1M · 4%
- Investment and property income$3M · 4%
- Franchise fees$2.8M · 3%
- Other (permits and planning fees, hotel tax, police and recreation fees, transfers in, business licenses, other)$9.4M · 11%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$25.9M · 30%
- Fire and ambulance$19.6M · 23%
- Pension payments to CalPERS (required plus $3M extra)$12.1M · 14%
- Public works$9.9M · 12%
- Administration, human resources and finance$7.5M · 9%
- Recreation and community services$4.2M · 5%
- Community development$3.6M · 4%
- Debt service$2.6M · 3%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Most of the bill is the 1% base levy that the state constitution caps and the county splits among local agencies. The city's budget says the city receives about 12.9 cents of each dollar of that levy. The city has no voter-approved tax rate of its own. Parts of the city sit in other school and college districts with different bond rates.
0¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Fountain Valley
- 1% base levy (shared by the county, schools, the city and special districts)1 · 93%
- Coast Community College District bonds0.02343 · 2%
- Fountain Valley School District bonds0.02201 · 2%
- Huntington Beach Union High School District bonds0.02119 · 2%
- Metropolitan Water District0.007 · <1%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.07363
FY2025-26 rates for a home in Fountain Valley in the Fountain Valley School District, Huntington Beach Union High School District and Coast Community College District (tax rate area 21-002). County of Orange Auditor-Controller · Sep 24, 2025
See what a Fountain Valley home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Fountain Valley is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityFountain Valley Police DepartmentCity of Fountain Valley · Dec 15, 2025
- FireThe cityFountain Valley Fire DepartmentCity of Fountain Valley · Dec 15, 2025
- 911 dispatchThe cityFountain Valley Police Department dispatch centerCity of Fountain Valley · Jun 3, 2025
- WaterThe cityCity of Fountain Valley water utilityCity of Fountain Valley · Jun 3, 2025
- Trash and recyclingContractorRepublic Services (city contract)City of Fountain Valley · Jun 3, 2025
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Fountain Valley Recreation and Community ServicesMile Square Regional Park is leased to the city by the County of Orange.City of Fountain Valley · Jun 3, 2025
- Homeless outreachContractorCity Net (city contract)City of Fountain Valley · Jun 3, 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 | LincolnCA | Fountain ValleyCA | HighlandCA | ArcadiaCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 56,494 | 56,596 | 56,655 | 57,095 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $281,190 | $306,569 | $289,000 | $329,948 |
| Council member pay | $7,860 | $6,001 | $9,600 | Not current (2023) |
| General fund per resident | $579 | $1,508 | $489 | $1,853 |
| Debt per resident | $404 | $544 | $111 | $1,433 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $551 | $1,652 | $110 | $1,575 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 5.0 | 4.8 | 0.7 | 5.5 |
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). Highland pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Fountain Valley publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe two-year FY2025-27 budget book is on the city's budget page; the July 2026 mid-cycle update is in the council agenda packet. City of Fountain Valley
- Yes: City manager's contract findable online City of Fountain Valley · Jun 7, 2022
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineMinutes in the council agenda packets list each member's vote, e.g. the 4-1 vote on the mayor rotation ordinance. City of Fountain Valley · Jun 2, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineMeetings stream live on FVTV Channel 3; recorded videos and minutes are linked from the city's Agenda Center. City of Fountain Valley
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe city's yearly compensation report lists council member pay ($6,001 in 2024). City of Fountain Valley
Questions to ask your council
- Measure HH sales tax brings in about $17.5 million a year and ends in 2037. Which services would change if it is not renewed?
- CalPERS put the city's unfunded pension liability at $93.5 million in June 2025. When does the city expect the extra $3 million a year to pay it off?
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $22.5 million at June 30, 2025, on top of the $17.1 million emergency reserve. How does the council plan to use them?
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