How Hesperia is run
Who runs Hesperia, 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 Hesperia's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Hesperia
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
- CalPERS pension at the 2.7% at 55 formula; she pays the full 8% employee share
- City contributes the maximum allowed by law to a 401(a) retirement plan; may also join the 457(b) plan
- 120 hours of administrative leave a year; unused hours convert to vacation
- Same city health insurance and retiree medical contributions as at-will senior managers
- Auto allowance of $600 a month
- Water District board stipend of $100 per meeting, up to six meetings a month
- Housing Authority stipend of $50 per meeting, up to four meetings a month
Hesperia city staff
212 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2026-27. City of Hesperia · Jul 24, 2026
The city posts a combined compensation schedule with monthly pay ranges for every job title, plus the city manager's salary and employment agreement. We did not pull pay bands from the State Controller's database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Hesperia 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: $45M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep at least two months of yearly general fund spending in cash. The FY2026-27 budget projects 5.7 months, about $28.5 million. The city meets this target. City of Hesperia · 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
- Vehicle license fees (property tax in lieu)$14.8M · 25%
- Sales tax (city's 1%)$14.4M · 24%
- Overhead charged to other funds (indirect cost allocation)$5.7M · 10%
- Development fees (building, planning, engineering)$5.7M · 9%
- Franchise fees (trash hauler, utilities, cable)$4.6M · 8%
- Leased water rights$1.9M · 3%
- Hotel tax$1.4M · 2%
- Other (property tax, business licenses, fines, interest, police grant transfer, misc.)$8.2M · 14%
- From savings (fund balance)$3.5M · 6%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police (San Bernardino County Sheriff contract)$26.2M · 43%
- Development services (planning, building, code enforcement, animal control, engineering)$14.9M · 25%
- Management services (finance, HR, risk and insurance, IT)$12.2M · 20%
- Transfers out (former fire district pensions, water rights bond payments)$3.3M · 6%
- City manager's office (includes clerk and elections)$1.9M · 3%
- City council and city attorney$1.2M · 2%
- Economic development$455,085 · 1%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
California caps the base property tax at 1% of assessed value. This shows how that 1% is divided; voter-approved bond rates for schools and other agencies are added on top and are not shown. The city's own share is 1.6 cents of each dollar, plus 1 cent for the city-run Water District. The fire district's share now goes to San Bernardino County Fire, except an extra 1.5% share the city keeps to pay the former district's pensions.
3¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Hesperia
- Hesperia Unified School District0.295 · 30%
- State school shift (ERAF)0.215 · 22%
- Hesperia Fire Protection District share (now paid to San Bernardino County Fire)0.153 · 15%
- San Bernardino County0.142 · 14%
- Victor Valley Community College0.064 · 6%
- Hesperia Recreation and Park District0.043 · 4%
- County flood control0.022 · 2%
- City of Hesperia0.016 · 2%
- County library0.014 · 1%
- Hesperia Water District (city-run)0.01 · 1%
- County Superintendent of Schools0.01 · 1%
- County service areas (CSA 60 and CSA 70)0.011 · 1%
- Mojave Water Agency0.005 · <1%
- Total (% of assessed value)1
FY2024-25 split of the 1% base property tax for a home in Hesperia (San Bernardino County). City of Hesperia · Dec 22, 2025
See what a Hesperia home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Hesperia is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceContractorSan Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, by contract (Hesperia Police Department)62 sworn officers; contracted since 1988City of Hesperia
- FireThe countySan Bernardino County Fire Protection DistrictTook over from the city's fire district on Nov. 1, 2018City of Hesperia
- EMS / ambulanceThe countySan Bernardino County FireCity of Hesperia · Dec 22, 2025
- SewerThe cityHesperia Water District (collection); Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority (treatment)Most homes are on septic tanksCity of Hesperia · Dec 22, 2025
- Trash and recyclingContractorAdvance Disposal (city franchise hauler)City of Hesperia
- StreetsThe cityCity of Hesperia Public WorksCity of Hesperia · Jul 24, 2026
- Animal servicesThe cityCity of Hesperia Animal Services (city shelter and animal control)City of Hesperia · Jul 24, 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 | Daly CityCA | VacavilleCA | HesperiaCA | San MateoCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 101,898 | 103,195 | 103,349 | 104,020 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $490,659 | $301,000 | $280,686 | $380,120 |
| Council member pay | $28,676 | $9,948 | $3,600 | $14,400 |
| General fund per resident | $1,318 | $1,641 | $583 | $1,833 |
| Debt per resident | $20 | $900 | $302 | $7,373 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $2,300 | $2,255 | $347 | $2,644 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 6.5 | 2.0 | 6.1 |
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). Hesperia and San Mateo pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Hesperia publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: City manager's contract findable onlineThe city manager's employment agreement is posted on the city's salary tables and benefits page. City of Hesperia
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member online City of Hesperia Legistar
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineThe city posts council agendas and approved minutes, and streams and archives council meeting video. City of Hesperia
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe city's website lists council meeting pay of $300 a month, a $600 auto allowance and per-meeting board stipends. City of Hesperia
- Yes: Employee pay published City of Hesperia
Questions to ask your council
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $45.0 million on June 30, 2025, and the general fund balance rose $13.8 million that year. How does the council plan to use the amount above its two-month cash minimum?
The fiscal year starts July 1. Staff present a mid-year review in March (March 3, 2026), the council holds budget workshops in May (May 5 and May 19, 2026), adopts the operating budget in early June (June 2, 2026) and adopts the capital budget after a public hearing (June 16, 2026). See who is running for council
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