How Kingsburg is run
Who runs Kingsburg, 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 Kingsburg's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Kingsburg
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
Kingsburg city staff
79 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 28, Fire and ambulance 21. FY2026-27. Full-time and part-time positions in the FY2026-27 budget (73 full-time), not counting the five elected council members. City of Kingsburg · Jun 17, 2026
The city posts salary charts with pay ranges by position. We found no city list of pay by named employee other than the city manager's salary line. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Kingsburg 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: $8.3M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep a general fund balance of 20% of expenditures. Under Resolution No. 2018-052, any surplus above that goes to an economic stabilization fund, an equipment reserve fund and a CalPERS liability fund. City of Kingsburg · Jan 19, 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
- Property taxes (secured and unsecured)$1.8M · 22%
- Sales tax (including in-lieu)$1.7M · 21%
- Motor vehicle in-lieu fees$1.7M · 21%
- Transfers in from other funds$658,390 · 8%
- Franchise fees$620,000 · 8%
- Hotel tax (transient occupancy)$388,000 · 5%
- Building permits$325,000 · 4%
- Other (business licenses, plan check, permits, fines, interest, misc.)$794,615 · 10%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$3.7M · 47%
- Non-departmental (includes $475,000 transfer to the fire/ambulance fund)$942,080 · 12%
- Community development$693,979 · 9%
- Community services and recreation (includes transfers to pool and senior center)$533,607 · 7%
- City manager$361,922 · 5%
- Finance$337,666 · 4%
- Administrative services$325,430 · 4%
- Other (landscape, clerk, vehicle and facility upkeep, public works admin, attorney, council)$994,283 · 13%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Every property pays the 1% base levy, which the county collects and shares. The city's share is about 0.167%, or about 15 cents of each property-tax dollar. Voter-approved school and college bonds add about 0.096%.
15¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Kingsburg
- Fresno County (share of 1% base levy)0.33307 · 30%
- Kingsburg Elementary (share of 1% base levy)0.16881 · 15%
- City of Kingsburg (share of 1% base levy)0.16715 · 15%
- Kingsburg High (share of 1% base levy)0.16687 · 15%
- State Center Community College (share of 1% base levy)0.0517 · 5%
- Kingsburg Hospital (share of 1% base levy)0.04301 · 4%
- School equalization (share of 1% base levy)0.02985 · 3%
- Fresno County Library (share of 1% base levy)0.0175 · 2%
- Kingsburg Cemetery (share of 1% base levy)0.01388 · 1%
- Consolidated Mosquito (share of 1% base levy)0.00816 · <1%
- Kingsburg High voter-approved bonds0.040128 · 4%
- Kingsburg Elementary voter-approved bonds0.035952 · 3%
- State Center Community College voter-approved bonds0.020406 · 2%
- Total (percent of assessed value)1.096486
FY2024-25 rates for a home in the city of Kingsburg (Fresno County). City of Kingsburg · Jan 19, 2026
Who provides your services
Not everything in Kingsburg is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityKingsburg Police DepartmentCity of Kingsburg · Jun 17, 2026
- FireThe cityKingsburg Fire DepartmentCity of Kingsburg · Jun 17, 2026
- EMS / ambulanceThe cityKingsburg Fire DepartmentEmergency transport is part of the city fire department.City of Kingsburg · Jun 17, 2026
- Fire and EMS dispatchThe countyCounty of Fresno (contract)City of Kingsburg · Jun 17, 2026
- WaterThe cityCity of Kingsburg Water FundCity of Kingsburg · Jun 17, 2026
- SewerSeparate districtSelma-Kingsburg-Fowler County Sanitation DistrictCity of Kingsburg
- Trash and recyclingContractorMid Valley Disposal (city contract)City of Kingsburg
- ParksThe cityCity of Kingsburg Landscape MaintenanceCity of Kingsburg · Jun 17, 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 | Solana BeachCA | Grass ValleyCA | KingsburgCA | EmeryvilleCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 12,941 | 13,238 | 13,347 | 13,612 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $286,000 | $279,500 | $236,073 | $347,016 |
| Council member pay | $12,384 | $6,600 | $8,400 | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $2,139 | $1,507 | $591 | $4,120 |
| Debt per resident | $1,536 | $1,823 | $454 | $3,680 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $1,580 | $767 | $604 | $4,451 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 6.0 | 9.3 | 5.9 | 12.8 |
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). Solana Beach and Kingsburg and Emeryville pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Kingsburg 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 budget is in the June 17, 2026 council packet; the city's budget archive's latest posted budget is FY2025-26. City of Kingsburg · Jun 17, 2026
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineNot found in the city's document archive or 2025-2026 council agendas. The salary chart lists his pay. City of Kingsburg
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes online City of Kingsburg
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe council page and the salary chart state $700 a month for the mayor and each council member. City of Kingsburg
- Partly: Employee pay published City of Kingsburg
Questions to ask your council
- The general fund balance fell by $1,666,741 in FY2024-25, mostly from higher salaries, benefits and capital outlay. What fund balance does the council expect after the FY2025-26 audit?
- The FY2026-27 general fund budget's $942,080 non-departmental line includes a transfer to subsidize the fire/ambulance fund. How will fire and ambulance costs be paid for in later years?
- The city's share of the CalPERS net pension liability was $8.07 million on June 30, 2025. How much of the CalPERS liability fund will go to extra payments?
- The FY2026-27 general fund budget projects a surplus of only $1,668. Which revenues or costs would the council adjust if sales tax or building permits come in lower?
The fiscal year starts July 1. Departments submit budget requests in April, the city manager's recommended budget is distributed in late May (May 29, 2026) and presented to council June 2, and the council holds a public hearing and adopts it in June. The FY2026-27 budget was adopted June 17, 2026. See who is running for council
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