How Manteca is run
Who runs Manteca, 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 Manteca's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Manteca
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 six months' pay if fired without cause after one year
- Car stipend of $300 a month
- City-issued laptop, cell phone and iPad
- Benefits follow the city's Executive Management Compensation and Benefits Plan (since the 2026 amendment)
- Must live within 40 miles of city offices
Manteca city staff
467 full-time-equivalent positions, including Public safety 172, Solid waste 48. FY2025. City of Manteca · Jan 13, 2026
The city posts salary matrices with the pay range of every job title, and the city manager's contract and pay amendments. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Manteca 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: $20M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep general fund operating and emergency reserves (unassigned fund balance) of at least 17% and up to 25% of spending, with a goal of about 25%. A planned draw should not exceed 3% of budgeted revenue without a council vote. The city also holds $20.1M assigned for fiscal stability. City of Manteca · Jan 13, 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$33.9M · 39%
- Sales tax$19.8M · 23%
- Charges for services$12.9M · 15%
- Hotel tax$7.5M · 9%
- Franchise fees$2.5M · 3%
- Other taxes$2.4M · 3%
- Other (fines, licenses, interest, rents, grants)$8.1M · 9%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$30.1M · 35%
- Fire$14.8M · 17%
- Non-departmental (insurance, transfers, citywide costs)$14.2M · 17%
- Public works$10.1M · 12%
- City manager's office$5.5M · 6%
- Finance$3.4M · 4%
- Other (clerk, attorney, HR, recreation, community development, engineering)$6.9M · 8%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
The city has no voter-approved debt rate of its own. Its share of the 1% base levy is about 14 cents of each base-levy dollar, or about 13 cents of each total property-tax dollar here. Homes in the Ripon Unified or Yosemite College areas pay those districts' bond rates instead.
13¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Manteca
- County, schools, state school fund and other agencies (share of the 1% levy)0.85592 · 78%
- City of Manteca (share of the 1% levy)0.14408 · 13%
- Manteca Unified School District bonds0.0882 · 8%
- San Joaquin Delta College District bonds0.0122 · 1%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.1004
FY2024-25 rates for a Manteca home in the Manteca Unified School District (San Joaquin County). City of Manteca · Jan 13, 2026
See what a Manteca house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Manteca is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityManteca Police DepartmentCity of Manteca
- Fire and emergency medical responseThe cityManteca Fire DepartmentCity of Manteca
- WaterThe cityCity of Manteca Utilities DepartmentCity of Manteca
- Sewer and wastewater treatmentThe cityCity of Manteca Utilities DepartmentCity of Manteca
- Trash and recyclingThe cityCity of Manteca Solid Waste & Fleet DepartmentCity of Manteca
- Parks, recreation and transitThe cityCity of Manteca Parks, Recreation & Transit DepartmentCity of Manteca
- City streetsThe cityCity of Manteca Streets & Compliance DepartmentCity of Manteca
- Golf courseThe cityCity of Manteca (golf enterprise fund)City of Manteca
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 | FolsomCA | ChinoCA | MantecaCA | San MarcosCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 95,680 | 95,946 | 96,511 | 97,554 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $332,072 | $348,160 | $338,113 | Not current (2023) |
| Council member pay | $7,200 | $33,555 | $22,800 | $12,567 |
| General fund per resident | $1,289 | $1,569 | $879 | $1,065 |
| Debt per resident | $2,188 | $208 | $519 | $15 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $2,077 | $585 | $1,426 | $768 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 5.2 | 4.7 | 4.8 | 4.9 |
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). San Marcos pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Manteca publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted online City of Manteca
- Yes: City manager's contract findable online City of Manteca
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineMinutes list each member's vote, e.g. the 5-0 vote adopting the FY2026-27 budget on June 16, 2026. City of Manteca · Jun 16, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes online City of Manteca
- Partly: Council pay stated in a public document City of Manteca · Dec 16, 2024
- Yes: Employee pay published City of Manteca
Questions to ask your council
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $20.0 million on June 30, 2025, and the city also set aside $20.1 million for fiscal stability. How much of that is needed to meet the 25% reserve goal?
- The city's three CalPERS pension plans were $137.6 million unfunded at June 30, 2025. What is the plan to pay down that shortfall?
- The FY2024-25 audit was dated Jan. 13, 2026, after audit delays led Moody's to withdraw the city's ratings in 2023. Will the city seek a new credit rating?
The fiscal year starts July 1. Staff presented the proposed FY2026-27 budget to the council on June 2, 2026, and the council held a public hearing and adopted it 5-0 on June 16, 2026. The city adjusts the budget at mid-year in February or March. See who is running for council
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