How Marina is run
Who runs Marina, 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 Marina's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Marina
A City Manager appointed by the council is the chief administrative officer and directs all city departments. The five-member council, including the separately elected mayor, makes policy and adopts the budget. The council also appoints the City Attorney.
What they are paid
- CalPERS pension, 2% at 55 (classic member); he pays the full employee share
- $600 a month car allowance
- Leave accrues at 32 working days a year
- May join city health, dental and vision plans at their own cost, with no city contribution
- Reimbursed for official travel under the city travel policy
Marina city staff
132 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 42, Fire 23. FY2026-27. City of Marina · Jun 17, 2025
The city posts salary schedules and labor agreements on its website. We did not pull pay bands from the State Controller's database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Marina 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: $29.8M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep an emergency reserve equal to 20% of general fund operating revenues (18% in FY2024-25), committed separately from unassigned fund balance. The city met the policy on June 30, 2025, with $7.2 million set aside. City of Marina · Jan 16, 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$11.6M · 22%
- Sales tax$10.9M · 20%
- Hotel tax (transient occupancy)$6.5M · 12%
- Use of money and property$3.7M · 7%
- Business license tax$2M · 4%
- Charges for services$1.4M · 3%
- Other (franchise, cannabis and cardroom taxes, permits, fines, grants, transfers in)$4.6M · 8%
- From savings (fund balance)$13.1M · 24%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Transfers out (incl. $11.8M loan to build the Aquatic and Sports Center)$14.3M · 27%
- Police$11.3M · 21%
- Administration (council, manager, HR, IT, finance, attorney, economic development)$7M · 13%
- Fire$6.4M · 12%
- Citywide non-departmental$5.5M · 10%
- Public works and engineering$5.3M · 10%
- Community development$2.3M · 4%
- Recreation and cultural services$1.8M · 3%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Almost all of the bill is the 1% base levy, which the county splits among local agencies. The city gets about 15 cents of each base-levy dollar. Its voter-approved library bonds add a small debt rate.
15¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Marina
- Monterey Peninsula Unified School District share of the 1% base levy0.43798 · 40%
- Other agencies' shares of the 1% base levy (county, state school fund ERAF, college, special districts)0.41192 · 38%
- City of Marina share of the 1% base levy0.1501 · 14%
- Monterey Peninsula Unified School District bonds0.04821 · 4%
- Monterey Peninsula College bonds0.02193 · 2%
- City of Marina library bonds (2015 refunding)0.01604 · 1%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.08619
FY2024-25 rates for a home in Marina (Monterey County, tax rate area 12-004). City of Marina · Jan 16, 2026
Who provides your services
Not everything in Marina is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityMarina Police DepartmentCity of Marina · Jan 16, 2026
- FireThe cityMarina Fire DepartmentCity of Marina · Jan 16, 2026
- City streetsThe cityCity of Marina Public WorksCity of Marina · Jan 16, 2026
- ParksThe cityCity of MarinaCity of Marina · Jan 16, 2026
- WaterSeparate districtMarina Coast Water DistrictMarina Coast Water District
- SewerSeparate districtMarina Coast Water DistrictWastewater is treated at the regional treatment plantMarina Coast Water District
- LibraryThe countyMonterey County Free Libraries (Marina Branch)The city owns the buildingCity of Marina · Jun 17, 2025
- Bus transitSeparate districtMonterey-Salinas TransitCity of Marina · Jun 17, 2025
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 | American CanyonCA | ImperialCA | MillbraeCA | MarinaCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 22,619 | 22,984 | 23,062 | 23,322 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $303,000 | Not confirmed | $317,788 | $301,900 |
| Council member pay | $11,400 | Not confirmed | $11,400 | $24,000 |
| General fund per resident | $1,511 | $820 | $1,883 | $2,305 |
| Debt per resident | $447 | $1,195 | $2,194 | $2,574 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $464 | $267 | $2,473 | $1,255 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 5.4 | 7.0 | 4.6 | 5.7 |
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). American Canyon and Imperial and Millbrae pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Marina publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe two-year FY2025-26 and FY2026-27 budget is on the city's Budgets page; the May 2026 mid-cycle changes are in the council packet. City of Marina · Jun 17, 2025
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineOrdinances list each member's vote, e.g. Ordinance 2025-02 on council pay passed 3-1 with Mayor Delgado voting no. City of Marina · Mar 4, 2025
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentOrdinance 2025-02 sets council pay at $2,000 a month and the mayor's at $2,250, with yearly cost-of-living adjustments. City of Marina · Mar 4, 2025
- Yes: Employee pay publishedThe city's Salary Schedules and MOUs page posts an all-city salary table and labor agreements. City of Marina
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2026-27 general fund plan draws about $13.1 million from savings, mostly for a loan to build the Aquatic and Sports Center. How will repayment from FORA revenues be reported each year?
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $29.8 million on June 30, 2025, beside a $7.2 million emergency reserve. How much of that balance is already planned for parks and city buildings?
- The city's share of CalPERS pension debt was $29.3 million, against a $5 million pension stabilization fund. When will the council decide how to use that fund?
The fiscal year starts July 1. The city adopts a two-year budget: the City Manager presents it in June, and the council adopted the FY2025-26 and FY2026-27 budget in June 2025. Mid-cycle changes for FY2026-27 were adopted May 19, 2026. See who is running for council
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