How Garden Grove is run
Who runs Garden 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 Garden Grove's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Garden Grove
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
- Same benefits as the city's Central Management staff
- A lump sum of 80 hours of vacation each March
- If fired without cause, severance of her monthly salary times the months left on the contract, up to 12 months' salary
- Auto allowance of $10,416 a year
- City-provided cell phone, phone service and laptop
Garden Grove city staff
581 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 256, Public Works 160. FY2026-27. Authorized full-time positions in the FY2026-27 budget, plus 41 part-time positions with benefits. The budget lists no fire positions: fire and paramedic services come from the Orange County Fire Authority under contract. City of Garden Grove · Jun 10, 2025
The city posts a council-adopted salary schedule with pay ranges for every job title. We did not pull pay bands from the State Controller's database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Garden 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 city says the FY2026-27 general fund budget is structurally balanced after the mid-cycle update. Its five-year forecast shows the general fund may run a temporary operating deficit for the next three to four years, due to slowing revenue growth and rising cost pressures. City of Garden Grove · Jun 9, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $81.4M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: A Stability Reserve, committed by the council, with a minimum target of 16.7% of adopted general fund operating revenues. It held $30.3M at June 30, 2025, counted as committed, not unassigned. One-time revenues go to a separate Designated Revenue Reserve ($10.9M) and need council approval to spend. City of Garden Grove · Dec 23, 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$72.6M · 37%
- Sales tax$30.8M · 16%
- Measure O sales tax$30.8M · 16%
- Hotel visitors tax$28.6M · 14%
- Charges for services$9.3M · 5%
- Miscellaneous revenue$5.7M · 3%
- Licenses and permits$4.4M · 2%
- Other (business tax, franchises, fines, investment earnings)$11.4M · 6%
- Added in June 2026 (cost allocation charges, parking fines, interest, pool)$3.4M · 2%
- One-time funds approved in the adopted budget$1.2M · 1%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$91.2M · 46%
- Fire and paramedics (Orange County Fire Authority contract)$36.8M · 19%
- Public Works$21M · 11%
- Non-departmental$10.1M · 5%
- Community Services$9.3M · 5%
- Community Development$8.1M · 4%
- Economic Development and Housing$6.1M · 3%
- Administration (city manager and council, attorney, finance, HR, IT)$12.2M · 6%
- June 2026 mid-cycle amendments$3.4M · 2%
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. On top of it, the city charges a voter-approved paramedic levy and school districts charge for their bonds.
7¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Garden Grove
- 1% base levy (shared by the county, schools, the city and special districts)1 · 85%
- School bonds0.08964 · 8%
- City paramedic levy0.08 · 7%
- Metropolitan Water District0.007 · <1%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.17664
FY2024-25 rates for a home in Garden Grove (Orange County), from the city's audited report. City of Garden Grove · Dec 23, 2025
See what a Garden Grove home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Garden Grove is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityGarden Grove Police DepartmentCity of Garden Grove · Dec 23, 2025
- 911 dispatch (police)The cityGarden Grove Police Department Communications DivisionCity of Garden Grove · Jun 10, 2025
- WaterThe cityCity of Garden Grove water utility (Public Works)Includes city wells, reservoirs and imported water connections.City of Garden Grove · Jun 10, 2025
- SewerSeparate districtGarden Grove Sanitary District, a subsidiary district governed by the City CouncilCity of Garden Grove · Dec 23, 2025
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Garden Grove Community Services DepartmentCity of Garden Grove · Jun 10, 2025
- Homeless shelterThe cityCentral Cities Navigation Center, run by the City of Garden Grove with Fountain Valley and WestminsterCity of Garden Grove · Dec 23, 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 | PalmdaleCA | Garden GroveCA | OceansideCA | Rancho CucamongaCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 166,118 | 171,077 | 174,027 | 176,418 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $370,412 | $346,433 | $325,665 | $343,110 |
| Council member pay | $18,000 | Not current (2022) | Not current (2016) | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $766 | $1,159 | $1,383 | $717 |
| Debt per resident | $527 | $1,080 | $796 | $22 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $403 | $1,879 | $1,374 | $486 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 2.0 | 3.4 | 6.2 | 3.2 |
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). Rancho Cucamonga pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Garden 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 FY2025-27 budget book is posted on the city's finance page, and the June 2026 amendment resolution is in the agenda portal. City of Garden Grove
- Yes: City manager's contract findable onlineThe 2023 agreement, its January 2026 amendment and Matthew West's 2026 agreement are attached to council agenda items. City of Garden Grove · Sep 8, 2026
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineCouncil minutes list each member's vote by name, e.g. 7-0 votes at the March 10, 2026 meeting. City of Garden Grove · Mar 10, 2026
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentOrdinance No. 2930 sets council pay at $1,312.34 a month; Ordinance No. 2931 adds $200 a month for the elected mayor. City of Garden Grove · Feb 8, 2022
- Yes: Employee pay published City of Garden Grove · Jan 27, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The city's five-year forecast shows the general fund may run a temporary operating deficit for the next three to four years. What steps will close that gap?
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $81.4 million at June 30, 2025, on top of a $30.3 million Stability Reserve. What level of unassigned reserves does the council plan to keep?
- The new City Manager starts Nov. 3, 2026 at $363,756 a year, up from $346,433 for the current manager. How will the council review the manager's performance?
Help decide what comes next
What do you want to know about Garden 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.