How Huntington Beach is run
Who runs Huntington Beach, 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 Huntington Beach's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Huntington Beach
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
- Four-year term, March 15, 2025 to March 14, 2029
- 6 months' salary and benefits if the council ends the contract without cause and gives less than 6 months' notice
- CalPERS 2.5% at 55 pension; he pays the 8% employee share
- Same benefit package as the city's executive managers, including family health and dental coverage
- Car allowance of $230.77 every two weeks
- The FY2026-27 City Council budget includes $178,378 in expense allowances and $132,851 in benefits
Huntington Beach city staff
993 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 341, Fire 207, Public Works 206. FY2026-27. City of Huntington Beach · Jun 16, 2026
Council resolutions post salary ranges for non-represented jobs. The State Controller's Government Compensation in California site lists pay by position; we did not pull pay bands from it. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Huntington Beach 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
Unassigned general fund balance: $0 (2025-06-30). That means every dollar the general fund has saved is set aside in a named reserve or category, not that it has no savings. City of Huntington Beach · Dec 31, 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$117M · 36%
- Sales tax$52.4M · 16%
- Charges for services$34.9M · 11%
- Use of money and property (interest, leases, concessions)$27.3M · 8%
- Utility users tax$24.4M · 7%
- Hotel tax (incl. short-term rentals)$17.5M · 5%
- Licenses and permits$10.9M · 3%
- Franchise fees$9.1M · 3%
- Other (other agencies, fines, misc., transfers in)$18.9M · 6%
- From fund balance$16.1M · 5%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$98.2M · 30%
- Fire (incl. ambulance and marine safety)$74.6M · 23%
- Non-departmental (transfers, debt service, equipment, citywide costs)$70.1M · 21%
- Public Works$26.2M · 8%
- Community and library services$17.1M · 5%
- Community development$10.9M · 3%
- Information technology$8.9M · 3%
- Other (council, manager, attorney, clerk, treasurer, finance, HR)$22.2M · 7%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
About 15.6 cents of each dollar of the 1% base levy goes to the city. The city also levies a capped 0.015% to pay for public safety pension benefits that predate Proposition 13. School bond rates differ by district, so other parts of the city pay different totals.
15¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Huntington Beach
- 1% base levy, other agencies' share (county, schools, special districts)0.84418 · 77%
- 1% base levy, City of Huntington Beach share0.15582 · 14%
- School district bonds0.08056 · 7%
- City retirement levy (pre-1978 public safety pensions)0.015 · 1%
- Metropolitan Water District0.007 · <1%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.10256
FY2024-25 rates for a Huntington Beach home in tax rate area 04-001, the largest in the city (Orange County). City of Huntington Beach · Dec 31, 2025
See what a Huntington Beach home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Huntington Beach is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityHuntington Beach Police DepartmentCity of Huntington Beach · Jun 16, 2026
- Fire, EMS and ambulanceThe cityHuntington Beach Fire DepartmentCity of Huntington Beach · Jun 16, 2026
- 911 dispatch (police)The cityHuntington Beach Police Department dispatchersCity of Huntington Beach · Jun 16, 2026
- WaterThe cityCity of Huntington Beach water utilityAbout 53,000 customers.City of Huntington Beach · Jun 16, 2026
- SewerThe cityCity of Huntington Beach sewer systemCity of Huntington Beach · Jun 16, 2026
- LibraryThe cityHuntington Beach Public Library (city)Central Library and four branches.City of Huntington Beach · Jun 16, 2026
- Parks and beachesThe cityCity of Huntington BeachCity of Huntington Beach · Jun 16, 2026
- City streets and storm drainsThe cityCity of Huntington Beach Public WorksCity of Huntington Beach · Jun 16, 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 | OntarioCA | Elk GroveCA | Huntington BeachCA | OxnardCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 187,863 | 188,319 | 191,498 | 198,557 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | $332,237 | $311,750 | $351,120 |
| Council member pay | $30,600 | $30,600 | Not confirmed | $20,412 |
| General fund per resident | $2,563 | $571 | $1,714 | $1,295 |
| Debt per resident | $5,037 | $180 | $1,805 | $1,594 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $781 | $120 | $830 | $1,555 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 8.1 | 2.5 | 5.2 | 7.5 |
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).
What Huntington Beach publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineBudget Resolution 2026-24 with fund totals is in Legistar; the full budget book is posted on the city's finance page. City of Huntington Beach · Jun 16, 2026
- Yes: City manager's contract findable onlineThe employment agreement is attached to Resolution 2025-17, Legistar item 25-154, approved March 4, 2025. City of Huntington Beach · Mar 4, 2025
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member online City of Huntington Beach · Jun 16, 2026
- No: Council pay stated in a public documentWe found no readable document stating council or mayor pay. The budget shows only a department salary total; the charter is on eCode360, which we could not read. City of Huntington Beach · Jun 16, 2026
- Yes: Employee pay publishedCouncil-adopted salary schedules list pay ranges by job, e.g. department heads at $83.06 to $116.87 an hour. City of Huntington Beach · Dec 16, 2025
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2026-27 general fund budget uses $16.1 million of fund balance, and the city says spending trends exceed recurring revenue growth. What will close the gap in later years?
- The city's two CalPERS plans were $158.9 million short at June 30, 2025, and in June 2026 the council repealed its pension paydown policy. How will the shortfall be paid down now?
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