How Livingston is run
Who runs Livingston, 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 Livingston's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Livingston
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
Livingston city staff
The FY2026-27 budget lists 86 full-time positions, up from 77, plus part-time, volunteer and contract positions. The city posts a pay schedule by job title. We found no list of pay by employee. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Livingston 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
Unassigned general fund balance: $5.8M (2025-06-30). City of Livingston · Mar 27, 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 tax in lieu of vehicle license fees$2.4M · 24%
- Property tax (current year secured)$2.3M · 23%
- Sales tax$1.8M · 19%
- Transfers in$878,000 · 9%
- Charges for services$733,626 · 7%
- Franchise tax$545,000 · 5%
- Other$1.2M · 12%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$5.4M · 54%
- Transfers to other funds$1.5M · 15%
- Administrative services$1.5M · 15%
- Parks$686,139 · 7%
- Public works and streets$613,325 · 6%
- Elected officials$304,015 · 3%
Who provides your services
Not everything in Livingston is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityLivingston Police DepartmentCity of Livingston · Jun 16, 2026
- Fire protectionThe countyMerced County through CAL FIREThe city is in the process of establishing its own fire department.City of Livingston · Jun 16, 2026
- WaterThe cityCity of LivingstonCity of Livingston · Jun 16, 2026
- SewerThe cityCity of LivingstonCity of Livingston · Jun 16, 2026
- Trash and recyclingContractorGilton Solid Waste ManagementCity of Livingston · Jun 16, 2026
- StreetsThe cityCity of LivingstonCity of Livingston · Jun 16, 2026
- RecreationThe cityCity of LivingstonCity of Livingston · Jun 16, 2026
- ParksThe cityCity of LivingstonCity of Livingston · Jun 16, 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 | LivingstonCA | Red BluffCA | ParlierCA | Pacific GroveCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 14,402 | 14,422 | 14,658 | 14,894 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | $196,875 | Not confirmed | $266,469 |
| Council member pay | $3,600 | $11,400 | Not confirmed | $5,040 |
| General fund per resident | $696 | $1,488 | $479 | $2,418 |
| Debt per resident | $834 | $1,214 | $185 | $770 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $650 | $470 | $198 | $3,587 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | — | 11.0 | 5.9 | 7.2 |
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). Livingston pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Livingston 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 adopted budget and earlier budgets are posted on the Finance budget documents page. City of Livingston
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineThe March 18, 2025 agenda lists his oath of office but no employment agreement. We found none in council packets or on the city site. City of Livingston · Mar 18, 2025
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member online City of Livingston · Jul 7, 2026
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe citywide pay schedule lists City Council at $300.00 a month. City of Livingston · Jun 16, 2026
- Partly: Employee pay published City of Livingston · Jun 16, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- Police costs $5,441,778 of the $10,018,211 FY2026-27 general fund budget. How will the city pay for police and its new fire department if sales tax stays flat?
- The city's CalPERS plans had a $9,360,862 unfunded liability at the June 30, 2024 measurement, with the miscellaneous plan 73.6% funded. How much will the city pay toward it each year?
- The general fund had $5,785,036 unassigned on June 30, 2025, and the city has no written minimum reserve rule. Will the council adopt one?
The fiscal year runs July 1 to June 30. The council holds public hearings, adopts the budget by resolution in June, and reviews a mid-year update in March. It adopted the FY2026-27 budget 5-0 on June 16, 2026. See who is running for council
Help decide what comes next
What do you want to know about Livingston next?
One tap, no sign-in. We count answers; we never show who chose what.
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?
See something wrong? Report an error
Something wrong or missing? Tell us what and where, with a link to a source if you have one. Reports feed the next verification run.