How Milpitas is run
Who runs Milpitas, 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 Milpitas's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Milpitas
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' salary plus six months of benefits if fired without cause
- $550 a month car allowance
- CalPERS pension, like other city employees
- 401(a) deferred compensation and medical, dental and vision coverage at the same level as other executive staff
- Contract runs through November 25, 2028
- The council's FY2026-27 budget includes $139,847 for group insurance
- The council's FY2026-27 budget includes $50,000 for training and registration
Milpitas city staff
451 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 126, Public works 117, Fire 81, Finance 31. FY2026-27. Funded positions in the FY2026-27 budget, the same as FY2025-26. Police (126), public works (117) and fire (81) have 324 of them. City of Milpitas · May 21, 2026
The city publishes a salary table with pay ranges for every job classification. We found no city list of pay by employee. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Milpitas 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 city's five-year forecast shows a $1.3 million structural surplus in FY2026-27, after $2.7 million of one-time reserves. It then projects structural deficits that grow to $19.6 million by FY2030-31. City of Milpitas · May 21, 2026
Savings
Unassigned general fund balance: $64.1M (2025-06-30). City of Milpitas · Nov 17, 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$54.7M · 36%
- Sales tax (incl. Measure F)$37.3M · 25%
- Hotel tax$13.6M · 9%
- Transfers in from other funds$10.9M · 7%
- Licenses and permits$9M · 6%
- Charges for services$8M · 5%
- Franchise fees$6.8M · 5%
- Other (interest, grants, other revenue, other taxes)$10.3M · 7%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$47.6M · 31%
- Fire$36.2M · 24%
- Public works$15.9M · 10%
- Non-departmental$12.5M · 8%
- Recreation and community services$7.6M · 5%
- Finance$5.6M · 4%
- Building safety$5.4M · 4%
- Information technology$5.2M · 3%
- Other (manager, council, clerk, attorney, HR, planning, housing, debt service, transfers)$16.2M · 11%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Every property pays the 1% base levy, which the county collects and shares. The city gets about 16.2% of that 1%. The city has no voter-approved levy of its own; school, county and special district add-ons bring the total to about 1.13%. Not every add-on applies to every property.
0¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Milpitas
- 1% base levy (shared by the county, city, schools and others)1 · 88%
- School districts (voter-approved)0.0875 · 8%
- County of Santa Clara (voter-approved)0.0412 · 4%
- Special districts (voter-approved)0.0041 · <1%
- Total (percent of assessed value)1.1328
FY2024-25 rates for a home in the city of Milpitas (Santa Clara County). City of Milpitas · Nov 17, 2025
Who provides your services
Not everything in Milpitas is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityMilpitas Police DepartmentCity of Milpitas · May 21, 2026
- FireThe cityMilpitas Fire Department (four stations)City of Milpitas · May 21, 2026
- Emergency medical servicesThe cityMilpitas Fire DepartmentIncludes EMS transport and a patient transport rescue ambulanceCity of Milpitas · May 21, 2026
- 911 dispatchThe cityMilpitas Police Department communications centerDispatches police, fire and other city departmentsCity of Milpitas · May 21, 2026
- WaterThe cityCity of Milpitas Public WorksBuys wholesale water from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission's Hetch Hetchy systemCity of Milpitas · May 21, 2026
- SewerThe cityCity of Milpitas Public WorksCity of Milpitas · May 21, 2026
- StreetsThe cityCity of Milpitas Public WorksCity of Milpitas · May 21, 2026
- ParksThe cityCity of Milpitas Public WorksMore than 190 acres of parklandCity of Milpitas · May 21, 2026
- SchoolsSeparate districtMilpitas Unified School DistrictCity of Milpitas · May 21, 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 | Redwood CityCA | MilpitasCA | Newport BeachCA | AlhambraCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 81,809 | 82,107 | 82,306 | 82,544 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $390,000 | $350,000 | $363,071 | $347,169 |
| Council member pay | $9,000 | $10,852 | $21,374 | $13,253 |
| General fund per resident | $2,519 | $1,852 | $4,235 | $1,251 |
| Debt per resident | $1,110 | $857 | $1,094 | $145 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $3,368 | $3,071 | $2,956 | $1,664 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 7.8 | 5.5 | 11.4 | 5.9 |
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).
What Milpitas publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Partly: Adopted budget posted onlineThe FY2026-27 proposed budget is posted. The budget page still lists FY2025-26 as the latest adopted budget book; FY2026-27 adoption is in the June 9, 2026 minutes. City of Milpitas
- Yes: City manager's contract findable onlineThe 2026 employment agreement is attached to the May 19, 2026 council agenda packet. City of Milpitas · May 19, 2026
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineMinutes list each member's vote by name, such as the 5-0 vote adopting the FY2026-27 budget on June 9, 2026. City of Milpitas · Jun 9, 2026
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe FY2026-27 salary table lists $10,852.40 a year for council members and $13,568.88 for the mayor. City of Milpitas · Jun 9, 2026
- Partly: Employee pay publishedThe city publishes a salary table with pay ranges for each job class. We found no city list of pay by employee. City of Milpitas · Jun 9, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The five-year forecast shows a $1.3 million structural surplus in FY2026-27 but a $19.6 million structural deficit by FY2030-31. Which steps will close that gap?
- The city's net pension liability was $252.2 million, about 67% funded. Will the city make extra payments toward it, as staff suggested in June 2026?
- The new city manager's pay is $350,000, with total yearly cost estimated at $516,027. What goals will the council use in his first evaluation?
The fiscal year starts July 1. The council reviews a preliminary five-year general fund forecast in March (March 3, 2026), holds a public hearing on the proposed budget in May (May 5, 2026), and adopts the budget in June. The FY2026-27 budget was adopted June 9, 2026. See who is running for council
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