How Merced is run
Who runs Merced, 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 Merced's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Merced
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
Merced city staff
566 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 143, Fire 93. FY2026-27. Full-time positions citywide in the FY2026-27 recommended budget, a net increase of 4. City of Merced · Jun 15, 2026
The city posts a salary table with pay steps for every job class. We did not pull pay bands from the State Controller's database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Merced 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 had a $1.3M operating shortfall, which the council chose to cover with Trust 115 and general fund reserve money. The city's long-range forecasts project structural general fund deficits, and staff say using reserves to balance the budget is only viable for about 4 more years. Staff recommended placing a 1-cent general sales tax on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot. City of Merced · Jul 20, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $23.7M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Council policy sets the general fund reserve at 30% of the general fund operating budget, lowered from 35% with the FY2025-26 budget: 25% set aside in a separate reserve fund and 5% kept in the general fund as contingency. City of Merced · Aug 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 FY2024-25.
Comes from
- Sales tax$16.8M · 25%
- Property tax$12.9M · 19%
- Vehicle license fee backfill$9.9M · 15%
- Charges for services$9.9M · 15%
- Other taxes (franchise, hotel, business license and more)$7M · 10%
- Intergovernmental$4M · 6%
- Interest and rents$3M · 4%
- Transfers in from other funds$2.8M · 4%
- Other$1.7M · 2%
Goes to (FY2024-25)
- Police$28.4M · 41%
- Fire$18.7M · 27%
- General government$10M · 14%
- Transfers out to other funds$4.6M · 7%
- Culture and recreation$3.2M · 5%
- Public works$2.6M · 4%
- Debt service$1.4M · 2%
- Other$318,028 · 0%
Who provides your services
Not everything in Merced is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityCity of Merced Police DepartmentCity of Merced · Aug 13, 2026
- FireThe cityCity of Merced Fire DepartmentCity of Merced · Aug 13, 2026
- Emergency medical servicesThe cityCity of Merced Fire DepartmentAdvanced Life Support paramedic response.City of Merced · Jun 15, 2026
- WaterThe cityCity of MercedCity of Merced · Aug 13, 2026
- SewerThe cityCity of MercedCity of Merced · Aug 13, 2026
- TrashThe cityCity of MercedCity of Merced · Aug 13, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of MercedCity of Merced · Aug 13, 2026
- StreetsThe cityCity of MercedCity of Merced · Aug 13, 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 | San MarcosCA | MercedCA | TracyCA | VistaCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 97,554 | 99,435 | 99,705 | 101,365 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not current (2023) | $250,080 | $369,540 | $325,944 |
| Council member pay | $12,567 | $6,000 | $22,800 | $38,352 |
| General fund per resident | $1,065 | $689 | $1,535 | $1,300 |
| Debt per resident | $15 | $176 | $1,092 | $943 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $768 | $1,186 | $1,255 | $773 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 5.7 | 7.4 | 3.3 |
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). San Marcos and Vista pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Merced publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- No: Audited financial report filed on timeThe audit report for the year ended June 30, 2025 is dated Aug. 13, 2026, more than 13 months after the year ended. City of Merced · Aug 13, 2026
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe FY2026-27 budget presentation, including council direction from the June 1, 2026 hearing, is posted as a Legistar attachment. City of Merced · Jun 15, 2026
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineLegistar records each council member's vote on agenda items by name. City of Merced
- No: Meeting videos and minutes onlineThe Legistar record for the June 15, 2026 council meeting had no minutes file or video linked. The city website blocked our reader. City of Merced
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentStaff reports state the current $500 council and $600 mayor monthly stipends and the recommended increases to $1,000 and $1,250. City of Merced · Apr 3, 2026
- Yes: Employee pay publishedThe city posts a salary table with hourly, monthly and annual pay steps by job class, effective June 22, 2026. City of Merced · Aug 24, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The city's forecasts project general fund deficits ahead, and staff say reserves can balance the budget for only about 4 more years. What changes if the Nov. 3, 2026 sales tax measure fails?
- The FY2026-27 budget covers a $1.3M operating shortfall with reserve money. Which ongoing revenues or cuts will close that gap in later years?
- The two CalPERS plans had $118.0M unfunded at June 30, 2025. How much will the city's pension trust set-asides reduce that?
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $23.7M at June 30, 2025, but the FY2025 audit was not dated until Aug. 13, 2026 and reported two material weaknesses. When will audits be finished sooner?
The fiscal year runs July 1 to June 30. The city manager's proposed FY2026-27 budget was presented to the council in May 2026. The council took public input at a hearing on June 1, 2026 and continued it to June 15, 2026, when the budget resolution came back for adoption. See who is running for council
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