How Menlo Park is run
Who runs Menlo Park, 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 Menlo Park's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Menlo Park
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
- City contribution of $15,000 to a 401(a) retirement account (2024 amendment)
- CalPERS Classic Tier 1 pension
- The council may award a bonus after good performance reviews
Menlo Park city staff
297 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2026-27. Budgeted full-time equivalent positions, including five for council members. The FY2025-26 budget and the FY2026-27 proposed budget both have 297; the salary schedule adopted June 23, 2026 added one new position. The citywide vacancy rate was 10.86% in May 2026. City of Menlo Park · Jun 9, 2026
The city posts salary schedules with pay ranges by job title, including the city manager range of $264,074 to $356,500. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Menlo Park 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 FY2026-27 budget was balanced without reserves, with a $9,296 surplus, partly thanks to a one-time $1.9 million state payment for lost vehicle license fee money. The city forecast shows an average structural deficit of $3.3 million a year, with unassigned reserves used up in FY2027-28 and the emergency reserve fully used by FY2030-31. City of Menlo Park · Jun 23, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $5.8M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Two committed reserves, not counted as unassigned: emergency contingency at 15% to 20% of the general fund operating budget ($10.4 million on June 30, 2025) and economic stabilization at 20% to 25% ($13.9 million). Staff say both are below the policy minimum as of FY2026-27. City of Menlo Park · Dec 19, 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
- Property taxes$37M · 42%
- Hotel tax (transient occupancy tax)$18.4M · 21%
- Licenses and permits$8.2M · 9%
- Sales tax$7.2M · 8%
- Charges for services$6.8M · 8%
- Interest and rents (use of money and property)$4.2M · 5%
- Franchise fees$2.7M · 3%
- Other (transfers in, miscellaneous, state and federal grants)$3.5M · 4%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Salaries and wages$33.1M · 37%
- Operating costs (services, supplies, internal charges)$31.6M · 35%
- Benefits (pensions, health care)$19.2M · 21%
- Transfers out (mostly to capital projects)$4.2M · 5%
- Vehicle replacement charge$1.8M · 2%
- Capital outlay$647,050 · 1%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Nearly all of the bill is the 1% base levy collected by San Mateo County. Voter-approved bonds for the high school district, the elementary district, the city's parks bonds and the open space district add about 0.07%. The city's ACFR uses tax rate area 08-004.
1¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Menlo Park
- 1% base levy (collected by San Mateo County and shared by the county, schools, the city and other agencies)1 · 93%
- Sequoia Union High School District bonds0.0388 · 4%
- Menlo Park elementary school district bonds0.0247 · 2%
- City of Menlo Park parks and recreation bonds (Measure T)0.005 · <1%
- Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District0.0013 · <1%
- City of Menlo Park direct rate0.001 · <1%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.0708
FY2024-25 rates for a home in Menlo Park (San Mateo County tax rate area 08-004). City of Menlo Park · Dec 19, 2025
See what a Menlo Park home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Menlo Park is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityMenlo Park Police DepartmentCity of Menlo Park · Dec 19, 2025
- WaterThe cityMenlo Park Municipal Water (city) for about 22,000 residentsThree other water providers serve the rest of the cityCity of Menlo Park · Dec 19, 2025
- SewerSeparate districtWest Bay Sanitary District (main provider)Sewer service comes from special districtsCity of Menlo Park · Dec 19, 2025
- LibraryThe cityMenlo Park Library and Community ServicesCity of Menlo Park · Dec 19, 2025
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Menlo ParkCity of Menlo Park · Dec 19, 2025
- City streetsThe cityCity of Menlo Park Public WorksCity of Menlo Park · Dec 19, 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 | Desert Hot SpringsCA | Menlo ParkCA | Pleasant HillCA | MoorparkCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 33,629 | 33,785 | 33,853 | 34,161 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $253,000 | $324,000 | $303,420 | $252,346 |
| Council member pay | $19,584 | $11,400 | $11,400 | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,014 | $2,658 | $1,070 | $763 |
| Debt per resident | $1,107 | $819 | $483 | $0 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $446 | $2,156 | $1,625 | $22 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | — | 8.8 | 3.7 | 2.3 |
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). Moorpark pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Menlo Park publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: City manager's contract findable online City of Menlo Park · Aug 26, 2025
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe city salary schedule lists council members at an annual rate of $11,400. City of Menlo Park · Jun 9, 2026
- Yes: Employee pay published City of Menlo Park · Jun 9, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The city forecast shows an average structural deficit of $3.3 million a year and unassigned reserves used up in FY2027-28. Which new revenue options will the council study, and when would voters see them?
- The FY2026-27 budget relies on a one-time $1.9 million state payment for lost vehicle license fee money. How will the city cover that amount in FY2027-28?
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $5.8 million on June 30, 2025, and staff say the emergency and economic reserves are below the policy minimum. What is the plan to rebuild them?
- The city's CalPERS plans had $72.8 million in net pension liability. How much does paying it off over 15 years add to yearly costs?
The fiscal year runs July 1 to June 30. Staff release the proposed budget in late May (May 27, 2026) and hold a public workshop (May 28), the council holds a public hearing in early June (June 9), and adopts the budget in late June (June 23, 2026). A mid-year budget review usually comes in February. See who is running for council
Help decide what comes next
What do you want to know about Menlo Park 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.