How Mendota is run
Who runs Mendota, 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 Mendota's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Mendota
The council appoints a city manager, who is the chief executive of the city, runs all city departments and prepares the budget. The five council members are elected at large to staggered four-year terms and set policy.
What they are paid
Mendota city staff
The city posts a salary schedule with hourly and biweekly pay steps for each job. We found no list of pay by employee and no total staff count in the budget. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Mendota 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 FY2025-26 budget has no multi-year forecast. It projects general fund revenue of $9,832,132 against spending of $9,591,112. Grants make up $4,615,203 of that revenue. City of Mendota · Jun 17, 2025
Savings
Unassigned general fund balance: $6.2M (2024-06-30). City of Mendota · Jun 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 FY2025-26.
Comes from
- Grants$4.6M · 47%
- Sales and use tax$1.4M · 15%
- Property tax (current secured)$1.3M · 14%
- Other business revenue$1.2M · 13%
- Reimbursements$395,000 · 4%
- Franchise fees$150,000 · 2%
- Rental income$111,720 · 1%
- Other (fines, fees, licenses, other taxes)$554,551 · 6%
Goes to (FY2025-26)
- Buildings and grounds (mostly capital projects)$5.3M · 55%
- Police$2.7M · 28%
- City administration (incl. fire protection contract)$954,344 · 10%
- Planning and engineering$203,424 · 2%
- City Council$130,078 · 1%
- Other (finance, code enforcement, building, animal control)$319,573 · 3%
Who provides your services
Not everything in Mendota is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityMendota Police DepartmentCity of Mendota · Jun 17, 2025
- Animal controlThe cityCity Animal ControlCity of Mendota · Jun 17, 2025
- Code enforcementThe cityCity Code EnforcementCity of Mendota · Jun 17, 2025
- WaterThe cityCity water utilityCity of Mendota · Jun 9, 2025
- SewerThe cityCity sewer utilityCity of Mendota · Jun 9, 2025
- Streets and street cleaningThe cityCity of MendotaCity of Mendota · Jun 9, 2025
- Planning and zoningThe cityCity of MendotaCity of Mendota · Jun 9, 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 | San MarinoCA | LarkspurCA | MendotaCA | Solana BeachCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 12,513 | 12,650 | 12,805 | 12,941 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $289,596 | $291,838 | $229,861 | $286,000 |
| Council member pay | No salary | $11,400 | Not confirmed | $12,384 |
| General fund per resident | $2,991 | $2,185 | $749 | $2,139 |
| Debt per resident | $0 | $2,935 | $337 | $1,536 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $3,479 | $336 | $10 | $1,580 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 10.3 | 2.8 | — | 6.0 |
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). Larkspur and Solana Beach pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Mendota publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineThe salary schedule says the city manager's pay is set by negotiated contract. The contract is not on the Public Documents page. City of Mendota
- Partly: Council pay stated in a public documentThe budget lists $18,000 for council salaries in total, but not each member's pay. City of Mendota · Jun 17, 2025
- Partly: Employee pay published City of Mendota · Jul 1, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- Grants make up $4,615,203 of the $9,832,132 in general fund revenue budgeted for FY2025-26. What happens to the planned projects if a grant does not arrive?
- The FY2023-24 audit, due March 31, 2025, is dated June 9, 2025. When will the FY2024-25 audit be posted?
- Unassigned general fund balance was $6,223,406 on June 30, 2024. How much of it does the city plan to spend on capital projects?
- The city manager's pay is set by a negotiated contract. Will the city post that contract online?
Help decide what comes next
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