How Laguna Hills is run
Who runs Laguna Hills, 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 Laguna Hills's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Laguna Hills
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
- Severance of up to nine months' salary plus nine months of health coverage if fired without cause
- $10,000 a year paid into a 457 deferred compensation plan
- CalPERS pension at 2% at 62; he pays the full employee share, 8.25% of salary
- 20 days of vacation a year, plus a one-time starting balance of 10 days
- Same health, life and disability insurance as other executive managers
- Members may join the city's group health plans; in 2025 the city paid $37,047 and $35,201 in premiums for two members and $1,376 each for the other three
- No extra pay for also serving as the city's Planning Agency
- Orange County Fire Authority board seat pays $100 a meeting, up to $300 a month
Laguna Hills city staff
35 full-time-equivalent positions, including Community Services 12, General Government 9, Community Development 7, Public Works 6, Non-Departmental 1. FY2024-25. Budgeted positions including vacant ones. Police and fire are contracted, so deputies and firefighters are not city employees. The city's 2025 compensation report says it has 27 full-time employees. City of Laguna Hills · Dec 3, 2025
The city posts its salary schedule, salary resolutions and employment agreements, plus a yearly report naming the pay of the City Manager and each department head. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Laguna Hills 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 finance director called the two-year budget operationally balanced: recurring revenues match recurring spending. In FY2026-27 the general fund plans to spend $845,742 more than it takes in, using reserves for one-time capital projects. The city expects about $17.1M of general fund balance at the end of the cycle, about 60% of yearly recurring spending. City of Laguna Hills · Jun 10, 2025
Savings
Unassigned general fund balance: $22.3M (2025-06-30). City of Laguna Hills · Dec 3, 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 (including property tax in lieu of vehicle fees)$14.7M · 43%
- Sales and use tax$6.6M · 19%
- Grants and miscellaneous (mostly a $4.86M federal grant)$4.9M · 14%
- Charges for services$1.9M · 6%
- Franchise fees and reimbursements$1.6M · 5%
- Hotel tax (transient occupancy)$1.5M · 4%
- Other (interest, other taxes and fees, fines, transfers in)$2.4M · 7%
- From savings (fund balance)$845,742 · 2%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Public safety (sheriff's police contract, animal services, crossing guards)$13.6M · 40%
- Public works (streets, parks, landscaping)$6.4M · 18%
- Transfers out, mostly to capital projects$5.7M · 17%
- General government (council, manager, attorney, clerk, finance)$2.9M · 8%
- Community services (recreation)$2.3M · 7%
- Non-departmental$1.9M · 6%
- Other (community development: planning, building, code enforcement)$1.6M · 5%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Almost all of the bill is the 1% base levy, which the county splits among local agencies. The city gets about 5.4 cents of each base-levy dollar. The city's budget says about 9.35% of every property tax dollar goes to the Orange County Fire Authority. The city charges no rate of its own on top.
5¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Laguna Hills
- Other agencies' shares of the 1% base levy0.946287 · 94%
- City of Laguna Hills share of the 1% base levy0.053713 · 5%
- Metropolitan Water District0.007 · <1%
- Capistrano Union (school district rate)0.00446 · <1%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.01146
FY2024-25 rates for a home in Laguna Hills tax rate area 31-000. City of Laguna Hills · Dec 3, 2025
Who provides your services
Not everything in Laguna Hills is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe countyOrange County Sheriff's Department (city contract)City of Laguna Hills
- Fire and paramedicsSeparate districtOrange County Fire AuthorityFunded by about 9.35% of each property tax dollarCity of Laguna Hills · Jun 10, 2025
- Trash and recyclingContractorCR&R (city franchise agreement)City of Laguna Hills · Dec 3, 2025
- School crossing guardsContractorAll City Management, Inc. (contract)City of Laguna Hills · Jun 10, 2025
- City streetsThe cityCity of Laguna HillsCity staff manage and inspect; maintenance crews are contractorsCity of Laguna Hills · Jun 10, 2025
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Laguna Hills48 acres of local parks and 26 acres of sports parksCity of Laguna Hills · Jun 10, 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 | East Palo AltoCA | Suisun CityCA | Laguna HillsCA | LawndaleCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 29,462 | 29,720 | 30,275 | 31,130 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $317,212 | $268,955 | $290,000 | $255,000 |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not current (2021) | $7,484 | $11,400 |
| General fund per resident | $1,338 | $1,094 | $1,139 | $744 |
| Debt per resident | $19 | $232 | $3 | $8 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $562 | $846 | $201 | $348 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 4.4 | 4.1 | 1.2 | 2.2 |
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). East Palo Alto and Laguna Hills and Lawndale pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Laguna Hills 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 onlineBob Wingenroth's agreement is posted on the city's Salary Resolutions and Employee Agreements page. City of Laguna Hills · Oct 14, 2025
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineMinutes name each member's vote, e.g. the 3-2 vote adopting the 2025-27 budget on June 10, 2025. City of Laguna Hills · Jun 10, 2025
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes online City of Laguna Hills
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe city's Public Officials' Compensation Report states the $623.66 monthly stipend and each member's health premiums. City of Laguna Hills
- Yes: Employee pay published City of Laguna Hills
Questions to ask your council
- Public safety, mostly the sheriff's police contract, is $13.6 million of the FY2026-27 general fund budget. How will future contract increases be covered while keeping the budget operationally balanced?
- The FY2026-27 general fund budget counts on $4.9 million of grants and miscellaneous revenue, mostly one federal grant. What happens to the planned projects if that grant is delayed?
- The city's CalPERS plan was 79.4% funded on June 30, 2025, $6.1 million short. Does the council plan to pay it down faster than CalPERS requires?
The fiscal year starts July 1. The city adopts a two-year budget in June of odd-numbered years: the 2025-27 budget had workshops on April 8, April 29, May 13 and May 27, 2025 and was adopted June 10, 2025 by a 3-2 vote. The council meets at 6 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month. See who is running for council
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