How Los Alamitos is run
Who runs Los Alamitos, 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 Los Alamitos's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Los Alamitos
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 12 months' base pay plus health premiums if fired without cause, at least nine monthly payments
- City puts $1,916 a month into a 457 deferred compensation plan
- Up to $2,250 a month toward health, dental and vision premiums
- City-owned or leased car for his exclusive use, with the city paying fuel, insurance and repairs
- $5,000 retention bonus at the start and on each anniversary, plus up to a 5% yearly performance bonus
- CalPERS pension at 2.7% at 55 and 200 hours of vacation a year
- $13,000 for council travel and training in FY2026-27
- Life insurance: $256 for the whole council in FY2026-27
Los Alamitos city staff
The city posts salary schedules and labor agreements on its Salaries and Labor Groups page. We found no city list of pay by employee. The FY2024-25 audited report says the city budgets 48 full-time employees. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Los Alamitos 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 city calls the FY2026-27 and FY2027-28 budgets balanced with a small projected surplus: $557,461 in FY2026-27 and $523,658 in FY2027-28. Staff expect sales tax to stay flat for both years. The budget also counts on $3.3 million in transfers in, including $627,724 of federal ARPA money in FY2026-27 only. City of Los Alamitos · May 26, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $14.3M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep a Reserve for Emergencies of 25% of general fund appropriations, set in July 2017. It can be used only with council approval in an emergency, such as revenue falling or spending rising by 5% or more in a year. The city also sets aside $2.5 million for pensions and $500,000 for retiree health. City of Los Alamitos · Dec 9, 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
- Local sales tax (Measure Y)$6.4M · 21%
- Property taxes$6M · 19%
- Sales tax (Bradley-Burns 1%)$3.8M · 12%
- Transfers in from other funds (ARPA, park fees, streets)$3.3M · 11%
- Utility users tax$3M · 10%
- Fines and forfeitures$1.7M · 6%
- Business licenses$1.5M · 5%
- Other (franchise fees, permits, interest, hotel tax, service charges)$5.1M · 17%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$8.7M · 29%
- Development services (public works, parks, planning, building)$7.6M · 25%
- Recreation and community services$4.6M · 15%
- Non-departmental (pension payments, retiree health, capital projects)$3.9M · 13%
- Transfers out (equipment, technology, insurance, debt)$2.3M · 7%
- Administrative services (finance, human resources)$1.6M · 5%
- City manager and city clerk$1.4M · 5%
- Other (city attorney, city council)$264,421 · 1%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Prop. 13 caps the base rate at 1% of assessed value, which the county splits among local agencies; the city gets about 11.7 cents of each dollar of it. Voter-approved bonds add to the bill. Other school bond rates in the table apply only in parts of the city served by other districts.
11¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Los Alamitos
- City of Los Alamitos (general fund and lighting)0.117 · 11%
- Los Alamitos Unified School District0.412 · 38%
- State school shift (ERAF)0.145 · 13%
- Orange County Fire Authority0.095 · 9%
- Orange County (general fund, flood control, parks, library)0.096 · 9%
- Community college and county Department of Education0.09 · 8%
- Other districts (sanitation, sewer, water, vector control, transit)0.046 · 4%
- Voter-approved school bonds (Los Alamitos school facilities, N. Orange County college)0.087 · 8%
- Metropolitan Water District0.007 · <1%
- Total (percent of assessed value)1.094
FY2024-25 rates for a home in the city of Los Alamitos (Orange County). City of Los Alamitos · Dec 9, 2025
Who provides your services
Not everything in Los Alamitos is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityLos Alamitos Police DepartmentCity of Los Alamitos · Dec 9, 2025
- FireContractorOrange County Fire Authority (city contract)OCFA Fire Station 2 is in the cityCity of Los Alamitos
- EMS / ambulanceContractorOrange County Fire Authority (city contract)City of Los Alamitos
- WaterPrivate companyGolden State Water CompanyCity of Los Alamitos
- SewerSeparate districtRossmoor/Los Alamitos Area Sewer DistrictRossmoor/Los Alamitos Area Sewer District: Home
- SchoolsSeparate districtLos Alamitos Unified School DistrictLos Alamitos Unified School District
- LibraryThe countyOC Public Libraries (Los Alamitos-Rossmoor branch)The branch is at 12700 Montecito in Seal BeachCity of Seal Beach
- StreetsThe cityCity of Los AlamitosCity of Los Alamitos · Dec 9, 2025
- Recreation and cultural eventsThe cityLos Alamitos Recreation and Community ServicesCity of Los Alamitos · Dec 9, 2025
- Animal control and shelterThe countyOrange County Animal Care (county contract)City of Los Alamitos · Jun 15, 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 | Scotts ValleyCA | Los AlamitosCA | CommerceCA | NewmanCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 11,578 | 11,951 | 12,145 | 12,362 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $268,008 | $261,710 | Not confirmed | $228,012 |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | $4,800 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,872 | $2,532 | $7,092 | $699 |
| Debt per resident | $1,104 | $250 | $2,777 | $726 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $2,092 | $2,156 | $984 | $564 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | — | 14.5 | 7.4 |
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). Scotts Valley and Los Alamitos and Commerce pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Los Alamitos 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 budget, adopted May 26, 2026, is posted on the city's budget documents page with past years. City of Los Alamitos
- Yes: City manager's contract findable onlineChet Simmons's 2026 employment agreement is posted on the city's Salaries and Labor Groups page. City of Los Alamitos
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineThe city's meetings page links to agendas and minutes online and to videos of past council meetings. City of Los Alamitos
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe city posts Ordinance 09-01, which sets council pay at $400 a month. City of Los Alamitos
- Partly: Employee pay published City of Los Alamitos
Questions to ask your council
- The general fund balance fell $4.1 million in FY2024-25, mostly from capital projects. How much of the $14.3 million unassigned balance does the city plan to spend on future projects?
- The FY2026-27 budget counts on $627,724 of federal ARPA money that ends after this year. How will the city cover that amount in FY2027-28?
- The local Measure Y sales tax is the largest general fund revenue at $6.4 million in FY2026-27, and staff expect sales tax to stay flat. Which spending would change if it falls short?
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