How Lake Elsinore is run
Who runs Lake Elsinore, 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 Lake Elsinore's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Lake Elsinore
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
- If removed without cause, severance of up to 12 months' salary plus unused paid time off
- City-provided vehicle for business and personal use
- City pays into a 401(a) plan 2% of salary plus the most tax law allows in his 457(b) plan
- CalPERS pension at 2% at age 60; he pays the 7% employee share
- Contract runs to Feb. 26, 2035
Lake Elsinore city staff
213 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2026-27. City of Lake Elsinore · Jun 9, 2026
The council adopts a salary schedule each year with pay ranges for every job title, including the city manager. We did not pull pay bands. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Lake Elsinore 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 FY2026-27 general fund budget of $82.5 million is balanced and keeps the 20% economic uncertainty reserve at $16.5 million. Police costs rise 10.6% ($2.4 million), mainly from new union contracts. The FY2025-26 budget said that with Measure Z the city's projections show a surplus, but rising public safety costs mean the city will have to study more cost-effective ways to provide police service. City of Lake Elsinore · Jun 9, 2026
Savings
Unassigned general fund balance: $23.2M (2025-06-30). City of Lake Elsinore · Nov 26, 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
- Reimbursements and other$19.3M · 23%
- Sales tax$16.4M · 20%
- Property tax$13.3M · 16%
- Special assessments$8.1M · 10%
- Fees$6.9M · 8%
- Fire service tax credit$5.9M · 7%
- Franchise tax$3.6M · 4%
- Other (licenses and permits, building permits, fines, investment earnings, other taxes, reimbursements, intergovernmental)$9.1M · 11%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police (Riverside County Sheriff contract)$24.8M · 30%
- Fire (Riverside County contract)$13.6M · 16%
- Public works$7.1M · 9%
- Park maintenance$4.4M · 5%
- Land development$3.4M · 4%
- Non-departmental$3.3M · 4%
- Recreation$2.8M · 3%
- Other (code enforcement, planning, building, city manager, finance, lake, community centers, other departments)$23.1M · 28%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Every property pays the 1% base levy; the city gets about 5 cents of each base-levy dollar in its largest tax rate area. The other rates are added on top and are summed across the city's tax rate areas, so not every rate applies to every property.
4¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Lake Elsinore
- Basic 1% levy: City of Lake Elsinore share0.05007 · 4%
- Basic 1% levy: Riverside County, schools and other local agencies0.94993 · 79%
- Perris Union High School District bonds0.0685 · 6%
- Perris School District bonds0.05415 · 5%
- Menifee Union School District bonds0.0508 · 4%
- Lake Elsinore Unified School District bonds0.019 · 2%
- Metropolitan Water District0.007 · <1%
- Mt. San Jacinto Community College District0.00268 · <1%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.20213
FY2024-25 rates across the city of Lake Elsinore's tax rate areas (Riverside County). City of Lake Elsinore · Nov 26, 2025
Who provides your services
Not everything in Lake Elsinore is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceContractorRiverside County Sheriff's Department, under contractThe contract buys 130.8 hours of law enforcement service a day.City of Lake Elsinore
- FireContractorRiverside County Fire Department, under contractCity of Lake Elsinore
- Water and sewerSeparate districtElsinore Valley Municipal Water DistrictCity of Lake Elsinore · Nov 26, 2025
- Trash and recyclingContractorCR&R, under an exclusive city franchiseMonthly residential rate of $32.86 before the 2026 adjustment.City of Lake Elsinore · Jun 9, 2026
- SchoolsSeparate districtLake Elsinore Unified School District25 schools for about 21,000 students in the city and its sphere of influence.City of Lake Elsinore · Nov 26, 2025
- Parks and beachesThe cityCity of Lake Elsinore20 parks and 3 public beaches.City of Lake Elsinore · Nov 26, 2025
- Lake services and recreationThe cityCity of Lake ElsinoreCity of Lake Elsinore · Nov 26, 2025
- StreetsThe cityCity of Lake ElsinoreCity of Lake Elsinore · Nov 26, 2025
- Planning, building and code enforcementThe cityCity of Lake ElsinoreCity of Lake Elsinore · Nov 26, 2025
- Animal controlContractorAnimal Friends of the Valleys, under contractAnimal sheltering is provided by the County of Riverside.City of Lake Elsinore
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 | RedlandsCA | Lake ElsinoreCA | DublinCA | RocklinCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 73,811 | 74,483 | 74,769 | 74,842 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not current (2022) | $327,540 | $377,481 | $293,459 |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | $19,200 | $19,200 | Not current (2022) |
| General fund per resident | $1,832 | $1,108 | $1,756 | $943 |
| Debt per resident | $263 | $2,516 | $214 | $103 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $2,070 | $200 | $303 | $817 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 8.8 | 2.9 | 1.5 | 3.6 |
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). Lake Elsinore and Dublin pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Lake Elsinore publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Partly: Adopted budget posted online City of Lake Elsinore
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineCouncil minutes name each member's vote, e.g. 5-0 on the FY2026-27 budget on June 9, 2026. City of Lake Elsinore · Jun 23, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineThe city's agendas page links agendas, minutes and meeting videos for the council and its agencies. City of Lake Elsinore
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentCouncil staff reports and ordinances state council pay: $1,600 a month since January 2025. City of Lake Elsinore · Oct 13, 2026
- Yes: Employee pay published City of Lake Elsinore · Jun 9, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- Police ($24.8 million) and fire ($13.6 million) contracts with Riverside County are the two largest items in the $82.5 million FY2026-27 general fund budget, and police costs rise $2.4 million this year. What other ways of providing police service has the city studied?
- The city manager's contract runs to Feb. 26, 2035, with severance of up to 12 months' salary. Will the council publish his current salary after each yearly review?
The fiscal year runs July 1 to June 30. Staff presents a mid-year budget report in February (Feb. 10, 2026), and the council's budget subcommittee reviews the proposed budget in the spring. The council adopted the FY2026-27 operating budget, position list and salary schedule on June 9, 2026, the same night the five-year capital plan was presented. See who is running for council
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