How Lawndale is run
Who runs Lawndale, 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 Lawndale's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Lawndale
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
- Three-year, at-will contract; three council votes can end it
- Five months' base pay as severance if fired without cause
- $325 a month car allowance plus use of a city vehicle for city business
- $1,680.36 a month for flexible benefits, plus city-paid life and long-term disability insurance
- CalPERS pension (2% at 55); he pays the full employee share
- A monthly flexible benefits allowance equal to the city's central management group
- May join CalPERS as optional members; the city pays the employer share
- No extra pay for sitting on the Successor Agency, Housing Authority, Cable Usage Corporation and Public Financing Authority boards
Lawndale city staff
68 full-time-equivalent positions, including General government 33, Culture and leisure 18, Public safety 13, Community development 4. FY2024-25. Down from 80 a year earlier. City of Lawndale · Dec 23, 2025
The city posts a citywide salary schedule with pay ranges for every job title. We did not pull pay bands from the State Controller's database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Lawndale 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: $36.6M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Council Policy 82-04 sets a goal of general fund reserves equal to 100% of the yearly general fund budget. The city meets this target. City of Lawndale · Dec 23, 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
- Vehicle license fees (motor vehicle in-lieu)$5.3M · 23%
- Sales tax$4.1M · 18%
- Measure L sales tax$3.1M · 13%
- Utility users tax$2.2M · 10%
- Property tax$2.2M · 9%
- Interest on investments$1.3M · 6%
- Hotel tax$803,000 · 3%
- Building and planning fees$750,000 · 3%
- Other (franchise fees, business licenses, parking fines, recreation fees, misc.)$2.6M · 11%
- From savings (fund balance)$879,517 · 4%
Who provides your services
Not everything in Lawndale is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceContractorLos Angeles County Sheriff's Department (South Los Angeles station)City of Lawndale
- Trash and recyclingContractorRepublic Services (exclusive city franchise)City of Lawndale
- Animal controlThe cityCity of Lawndale Municipal Services, Animal Control DivisionCity of Lawndale
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Lawndale Community ServicesCity of Lawndale · Dec 23, 2025
- City streetsThe cityCity of Lawndale Public WorksCity of Lawndale · Dec 23, 2025
- Local bus (Lawndale Beat)The cityCity of LawndaleCity of Lawndale
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 | LawndaleCA | SaratogaCA | La VerneCA | San PabloCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 31,130 | 31,261 | 31,466 | 31,468 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $255,000 | $335,000 | $275,679 | $327,180 |
| Council member pay | $11,400 | $3,000 | $11,400 | $17,064 |
| General fund per resident | $744 | $1,114 | $1,557 | $1,919 |
| Debt per resident | $8 | $165 | $1,556 | $1,587 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $348 | $302 | $746 | $1,875 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 2.2 | 1.8 | 6.3 | 5.0 |
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). Lawndale and Saratoga pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Lawndale 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 Lawndale
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineThe city's agenda page offers live and on-demand meeting video, and its agenda system posts agendas, packets and minutes. City of Lawndale
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe FY2025-26 budget lists the mayor and four council members at $950 a month. City of Lawndale
- Yes: Employee pay published City of Lawndale
Questions to ask your council
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $36.6 million on June 30, 2025, well above the city's goal of one year's general fund budget. Does the council plan to set a ceiling or a use for the amount above the goal?
Help decide what comes next
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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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