How Lemon Grove is run
Who runs Lemon Grove, 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 Lemon Grove's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Lemon Grove
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
- $500 a month car allowance
- $8,000 a year city contribution to a 457 deferred compensation plan
- 153 hours of paid vacation a year
- Six months' base salary as severance if fired without cause
- Yearly cost-of-living raise tied to San Diego inflation, capped at 3%, from July 1, 2027
- City Council salaries and benefits budget: $148,607 in FY2026-27, including $40,200 for health benefits and $59,843 for retirement
Lemon Grove city staff
68 full-time-equivalent positions, including Fire 20, Public works 18. FY2024-25. City of Lemon Grove · Mar 2, 2026
The adopted budget includes the city's salary plan with the pay range of every job title. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Lemon Grove 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 adopted budget projects a $266,971 general fund surplus for FY2026-27, with $22.4M in revenue and transfers and $22.2M in spending. The Measure T sales tax, approved in 2024, was projected at $5.9M a year; the city now projects $4.9M in its first year. We did not find a multi-year general fund forecast in the budget book. City of Lemon Grove · Jul 1, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $12.1M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: The General Reserve should equal at least 25% of the general fund adopted operating budget. It is held as committed fund balance ($6.3M at June 30, 2025), separate from the unassigned balance. City of Lemon Grove · Mar 2, 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 tax$8.1M · 36%
- Property tax in lieu of vehicle license fees$4.3M · 19%
- Property tax (secured)$4M · 18%
- Franchise fees$1.2M · 5%
- Cannabis business tax$1M · 4%
- Net transfers in from other funds$795,081 · 4%
- Other (other property taxes, fire and development fees, rents, interest, fines and other revenue)$3.1M · 14%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Law enforcement (Sheriff contract)$8.1M · 37%
- Fire$6.9M · 31%
- Public works$2.8M · 13%
- Community development$1.1M · 5%
- City manager$688,493 · 3%
- Finance$672,552 · 3%
- Community services$574,354 · 3%
- Other (city attorney, city council, city clerk, human resources, non-departmental)$1.3M · 6%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
The city's part is its share of the 1% base levy, about 12.5 cents of each property-tax dollar in this area. School bonds add about 0.24% of assessed value on top of the 1% levy.
12¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Lemon Grove
- County, schools, state school fund (ERAF) and other agencies (share of the 1% levy)0.84158 · 66%
- City of Lemon Grove (share of the 1% levy)0.15842 · 12%
- Lemon Grove School District bonds0.1443 · 11%
- Grossmont Union High School District bonds0.06293 · 5%
- Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District bonds0.03752 · 3%
- Grossmont Healthcare District bonds0.01989 · 2%
- Metropolitan Water District debt0.007 · <1%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.27164
FY2025-26 rates for a Lemon Grove home in tax rate area 15001 (San Diego County). San Diego County Auditor and Controller
Who provides your services
Not everything in Lemon Grove is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceContractorSan Diego County Sheriff's Department (city contract)City of Lemon Grove · Mar 2, 2026
- Emergency call receiving and dispatchAnother agencyHeartland Communications Facility Authority (joint agency the city belongs to)City of Lemon Grove · Mar 2, 2026
- Trash and recyclingPrivate companyEDCO DisposalCity of Lemon Grove
- Animal servicesAnother agencyCity of Chula VistaCity of Lemon Grove
- LibraryThe countySan Diego County LibraryCity of Lemon Grove · Mar 2, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Lemon GroveCity of Lemon Grove · Mar 2, 2026
- Streets and public worksThe cityCity of Lemon GroveCity of Lemon Grove · Mar 2, 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 | GaltCA | Twentynine PalmsCA | SangerCA | Lemon GroveCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 27,133 | 27,166 | 27,403 | 28,233 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | $200,000 | $215,000 |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | $5,580 | Not current (2017) | $9,636 |
| General fund per resident | $1,222 | $580 | $958 | $785 |
| Debt per resident | $817 | $41 | $1,838 | $16 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $1,120 | $59 | $322 | $408 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 7.4 | — | 5.7 | 2.4 |
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). Galt and Twentynine Palms and Lemon Grove pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Lemon Grove 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 online City of Lemon Grove
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineMinutes list each member's vote, e.g. the FY2026-27 budget passed 5-0 on June 2, 2026. City of Lemon Grove · Jun 2, 2026
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe budget's salary plan states monthly pay of $1,405.25 for the mayor and $803 for council members. City of Lemon Grove · Jul 1, 2026
- Yes: Employee pay published City of Lemon Grove · Jul 1, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- Measure T was projected to bring in $5.9 million a year, but the city now expects $4.9 million in its first year. Which planned street and drain projects change if it stays lower?
- The general fund spent $11,340 more than it took in during FY2024-25 before transfers. Will the city publish a multi-year forecast showing how it plans to keep the FY2026-27 surplus of $266,971?
- CalPERS put the city's two pension plans at $11.5 million unfunded at June 30, 2025, with the miscellaneous plan 74.4% funded. Does the city plan extra payments to bring that down?
The fiscal year starts July 1. The council holds budget workshops in April, the proposed budget is introduced in May, and the council adopts it in June before the year starts. The FY2026-27 budget was adopted June 2, 2026. See who is running for council
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