How Moorpark is run
Who runs Moorpark, 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 Moorpark's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Moorpark
The council appoints a City Manager to carry out its decisions and policies. The mayor, elected citywide for two years, and four council members serving four-year terms set policy and approve the budget. The council also appoints the City Attorney.
What they are paid
- City contributes 2.5% of his base salary to a deferred compensation program
- Car allowance of $515 a month and cell phone allowance of $70 a month
- 116 hours of administrative leave a year, on top of annual leave
- City pays the full dental and vision premiums for him and his dependents in FY2025-26 and FY2026-27
- Severance of six months' base salary if fired without cause after June 28, 2026 (three months before that date)
- A two-year contract term
- City-paid medical, dental, vision and term life insurance, budgeted at $151,930 for medical in FY2026-27
- CalPERS retirement contributions
Moorpark city staff
78 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2026-27. Full-time and part-time positions. Police (Ventura County Sheriff) and fire (Ventura County Fire District) are not city staff. City of Moorpark · Jun 18, 2025
The city posts its salary plan with pay ranges for every job title (Resolution No. 2026-4422). We did not pull pay bands from the State Controller's database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Moorpark 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 10-year financial plan, updated with the FY2026-27 budget, projects a general fund structural deficit beginning in FY2029-30. Staff cite public safety costs rising faster than revenue, lower interest earnings as reserves are spent on capital projects, and general fund subsidies for parks, community development and engineering. A higher park assessment would delay the deficit to FY2031-32. City of Moorpark · Jun 22, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $1.6M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Council Policy 5.2: an emergency/contingency reserve of at least 20% of general fund spending, plus $1 million of unassigned general fund balance. A separate $500,000 economic uncertainty reserve was added in 2020. The city meets this target. City of Moorpark · Dec 19, 2025
Bar: unassigned savings of $1.6M. Line: the amount the city's target calls for.
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$7.4M · 28%
- Property tax in lieu of vehicle license fees$5.2M · 20%
- Sales tax$4.9M · 19%
- Cost plan charges to other funds$2.4M · 9%
- Franchise fees$1.9M · 7%
- Charges for services$1.5M · 6%
- Investment earnings$1.3M · 5%
- Other (rentals, hotel tax, licenses, fines, grants)$1.8M · 7%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police (Ventura County Sheriff contract)$9.8M · 37%
- City staff salaries and benefits$7.1M · 27%
- Transfers to subsidize other funds$3.7M · 14%
- Contracted services$2M · 8%
- Overhead allocation$1.2M · 5%
- Other expenses$1.1M · 4%
- Capital projects$753,710 · 3%
- Utilities$390,550 · 1%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
The city has no voter-approved rate of its own; it gets a share of the 1% base levy, which this table does not break out. The rest of the bill pays school and college bonds and the Metropolitan Water District.
0¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Moorpark
- 1% base levy (shared by the county, the city, schools and other agencies)1 · 93%
- Moorpark Unified School District bondsTwo bond rates: 0.0403 and 0.01100.0513 · 5%
- Ventura County Community College District bonds0.0139 · 1%
- Metropolitan Water District0.007 · <1%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.0722
FY2025-26 rates for a home in Moorpark (Ventura County), tax rate area 10001. County of Ventura Auditor-Controller
See what a Moorpark house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Moorpark is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceContractorVentura County Sheriff's Office, under contractCity of Moorpark · Jun 18, 2025
- FireSeparate districtVentura County Fire Protection DistrictCity of Moorpark · Jun 18, 2025
- Water and wastewaterThe countyVentura County WaterworksCity of Moorpark · Jun 18, 2025
- TrashPrivate companyWaste ManagementCity of Moorpark · Jun 18, 2025
- ElectricityPrivate companySouthern California EdisonCity of Moorpark · Jun 18, 2025
- LibraryContractorMoorpark City Library, run under contract by Library Systems and Services, LLCCity of Moorpark · Jun 18, 2025
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of MoorparkCity staff run recreation programs and park and facilities maintenance.City of Moorpark · Jun 18, 2025
- Street maintenanceThe cityCity of MoorparkCity of Moorpark · Jun 18, 2025
- Animal and vector controlThe cityCity of MoorparkCity of Moorpark · Jun 18, 2025
- Public transitContractorContractor hired by the cityThe city provides transit through contractual arrangements.City of Moorpark · Jun 18, 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 | Menlo ParkCA | Pleasant HillCA | MoorparkCA | Manhattan BeachCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 33,785 | 33,853 | 34,161 | 34,333 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $324,000 | $303,420 | $252,346 | $306,375 |
| Council member pay | $11,400 | $11,400 | Not confirmed | $6,000 |
| General fund per resident | $2,658 | $1,070 | $763 | $3,398 |
| Debt per resident | $819 | $483 | $0 | $2,807 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $2,156 | $1,625 | $22 | $554 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 8.8 | 3.7 | 2.3 | 10.4 |
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 Moorpark publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe adopted two-year FY2025-26 and FY2026-27 budget, with a 10-year financial plan, is posted on the city's budget page. City of Moorpark · Jun 18, 2025
- Yes: City manager's contract findable onlineThe June 2025 agreement and the July 2026 amendment are in the council agenda packets posted on the city's Granicus site. City of Moorpark · Jun 4, 2025
- Partly: Council pay stated in a public documentThe budget lists $36,000 for council part-time salaries. We could not find a readable document stating the per-member rate. City of Moorpark · Jun 18, 2025
- Yes: Employee pay publishedThe city's salary plan, posted in the July 1, 2026 agenda packet, lists pay ranges by job title, including the City Manager's. City of Moorpark · Jul 1, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The city's 10-year plan projects a general fund structural deficit starting in FY2029-30. Which spending cuts or new revenues will the council consider to close it?
- Police, through the Ventura County Sheriff contract, is budgeted at $9.8 million of $26.1 million in general fund spending in FY2026-27. How will the city manage costs that the city says rise faster than inflation?
- The general fund is budgeted to transfer $3,738,454 in FY2026-27 to subsidize other funds such as park maintenance. Which of those subsidies should continue?
- Unassigned general fund balance was $1,581,080 at June 30, 2025, against a $1,000,000 rule. Is that cushion enough as reserves are spent on the new library?
The fiscal year starts July 1. Moorpark adopts a two-year budget; the FY2025-26 and FY2026-27 budget was adopted June 18, 2025. Mid-cycle changes to FY2026-27 were discussed at a public meeting on May 20, 2026 and adopted June 17, 2026. See who is running for council
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