How Huntington Park is run
Who runs Huntington Park, 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 Park's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Huntington Park
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 other department heads, including vacation, sick leave and post-employment benefits
- Yearly raises at the same rate as other department heads
- No overtime or other extra pay
- Agreed to serve five years from March 2024; owes the city up to $25,000 if he resigns before March 2029 (the amount drops $5,000 a year)
- Council professional development (conferences, travel) budget: $50,000 (FY2026-27)
- Community outreach materials budget for the mayor and council: $38,500 (FY2026-27)
Huntington Park city staff
267 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police (sworn and civilian) 120, Parks and Recreation (mostly part-time) 46, Public Works 37, Community Development 23, Finance 18. FY2026-27. Budgeted full- and part-time positions (a headcount, not full-time equivalents), up from 257 in FY2025-26, when 201 were filled. City of Huntington Park · May 26, 2026
The budget lists positions by title but not pay. Salary grids are set by council resolution in agenda packets. We did not pull pay data from the State Controller's database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Huntington Park 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: $9.5M (2025-06-30). City of Huntington Park · Mar 10, 2026
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
- Sales taxes (including the city's Measure S sales tax)$15.5M · 35%
- Vehicle license fees (state)$8.9M · 20%
- Utility users' tax$6.8M · 15%
- Fines and forfeitures$2.1M · 5%
- Property taxes (general fund share)$2M · 5%
- Business license$2M · 5%
- Franchise fees$1.5M · 3%
- Licenses and permits$1.5M · 3%
- Other (development fees, charges, interest, recreation, hotel tax, misc.)$3.6M · 8%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$19M · 43%
- Non-departmental (insurance, legal costs and settlements, utilities, citywide contracts)$7.3M · 17%
- Community Development$4.9M · 11%
- Public Works$3.5M · 8%
- Parks and Recreation$3.1M · 7%
- Finance$2M · 4%
- City Manager$1.8M · 4%
- Other (Human Resources, City Clerk, Communications, City Council)$2.3M · 5%
Who provides your services
Not everything in Huntington Park is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityHuntington Park Police DepartmentCity of Huntington Park · Jan 29, 2026
- FireThe countyLos Angeles County Fire DepartmentCounty Fire Station 164 is in the cityLA County Supervisor Janice Hahn
- WaterThe cityCity of Huntington Park water utilityCity wells supply much of the water; more is bought from the Water Replenishment District and Central Basin Municipal Water DistrictCity of Huntington Park · May 26, 2026
- SewerThe cityCity of Huntington Park (sewer fund)City of Huntington Park · May 26, 2026
- Trash and recyclingContractorValley Vista (city franchise hauler)City of Huntington Park
- StreetsThe cityCity of Huntington Park Public WorksThe city contracts out street construction and maintenanceCity of Huntington Park · Jan 29, 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 | DelanoCA | ColtonCA | Huntington ParkCA | Diamond BarCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 52,384 | 52,844 | 52,961 | 53,538 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | $336,000 | $270,000 | $289,806 |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | $5,280 | $27,276 | $8,952 |
| General fund per resident | $701 | $1,438 | $827 | $638 |
| Debt per resident | $739 | $1,142 | $73 | $106 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $478 | $2,447 | $1,372 | $159 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 4.6 | 7.2 | 5.0 | 2.3 |
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). Delano and Huntington Park and Diamond Bar pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Huntington Park publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe FY2026-27 adopted budget and capital budget are posted on the city's Operating Budget page. City of Huntington Park
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineApproved minutes in agenda packets list each member's aye, no, abstain or absent vote. City of Huntington Park
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe Ordinance 2025-15 staff report states council pay of $2,273 a month, rising to $2,386 on Jan. 1, 2027. City of Huntington Park
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2026-27 general fund budget plans $43.81 million in revenue and $43.81 million in spending, and the budget has no multi-year forecast. How will the council know whether later budgets stay balanced?
- CalPERS reported $72.7 million in unfunded pension liability for the city's two plans as of June 30, 2025. With the pension obligation bonds paid off, how will the voter-approved pension tax and the general fund cover rising payments?
- Police is $19.04 million of the $43.81 million general fund budget. How does the council review police staffing and overtime each year?
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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?
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