How Pacific Grove is run
Who runs Pacific Grove, 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 Pacific Grove's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Pacific Grove
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
- Interim, at-will appointment from August 24, 2026
- Paid $128.11 an hour, with no benefits, vacation or sick leave
- Ends when a permanent city manager starts, or by June 30, 2027 at the latest
- Either side may end it on 30 days' written notice
Pacific Grove city staff
108 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2026-27. City of Pacific Grove · Jun 17, 2026
Fire service comes from the City of Monterey under contract, so firefighters are not on the city payroll. The city posts yearly compensation reports by position. We did not pull pay bands from the State Controller's database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Pacific Grove 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.
Savings
Unassigned general fund balance: $5.4M (2025-06-30). City of Pacific Grove · Dec 18, 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$11.6M · 32%
- Hotel tax (transient occupancy)$7.6M · 21%
- Sales and use tax$6M · 17%
- Other taxes$2.3M · 6%
- Utility users tax$2.2M · 6%
- Charges for services$2.2M · 6%
- Other (licenses, permits and other revenue)$2.5M · 7%
- Drawn from general fund reserves$1.6M · 4%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$8M · 22%
- Debt service and pension obligations$6.6M · 18%
- Public works$4.4M · 12%
- Fire (City of Monterey contract)$4.1M · 11%
- Community development$2.5M · 7%
- Recreation$1.8M · 5%
- Finance$1.4M · 4%
- Other (library, city manager, IT, city attorney, museum, council, transfers, capital)$7.2M · 20%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
The 1% base levy plus voter-approved school and college bond rates, as listed in the city's audited report. The city has no voter-approved debt rate of its own.
15¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Pacific Grove
- City of Pacific Grove share of the 1% base levy0.1607 · 15%
- Rest of the 1% base levy (county, schools and other agencies)0.8393 · 79%
- Pacific Grove Unified School District bonds0.0417 · 4%
- Monterey Peninsula College bonds0.0219 · 2%
- Total ($ per $100 of assessed value)1.0636
FY2024-25 rates for a home in Pacific Grove (Monterey County). City of Pacific Grove · Dec 18, 2025
Who provides your services
Not everything in Pacific Grove is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityPacific Grove Police DepartmentCity of Pacific Grove · Dec 18, 2025
- 911 dispatchThe countyMonterey County Emergency Communications (county contract)City of Pacific Grove · Dec 18, 2025
- Sewer collectionThe cityCity of Pacific Grove Public WorksSewage is treated at the Monterey One Water plantCity of Pacific Grove · Jun 4, 2025
- Trash and recyclingContractorGreenWaste Recovery (city franchise)City of Pacific Grove
- Electricity and gasPrivate companyPacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)City of Pacific Grove
- SchoolsSeparate districtPacific Grove Unified School DistrictCity of Pacific Grove · Dec 18, 2025
- LibraryThe cityPacific Grove Public Library (city)City of Pacific Grove · Dec 18, 2025
- Parks, recreation and streetsThe cityCity of Pacific GroveCity of Pacific Grove · Dec 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 | Red BluffCA | ParlierCA | Pacific GroveCA | La PalmaCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 14,422 | 14,658 | 14,894 | 15,045 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $196,875 | Not confirmed | $266,469 | $245,000 |
| Council member pay | $11,400 | Not confirmed | $5,040 | $3,600 |
| General fund per resident | $1,488 | $479 | $2,418 | $1,050 |
| Debt per resident | $1,214 | $185 | $770 | $19 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $470 | $198 | $3,587 | $1,505 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 11.0 | 5.9 | 7.2 | 3.5 |
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). La Palma pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Pacific Grove publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted online City of Pacific Grove
- Yes: City manager's contract findable onlineThe interim city manager's August 2026 employment agreement is posted with the August 19, 2026 council agenda. City of Pacific Grove · Aug 19, 2026
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member online City of Pacific Grove · Aug 19, 2026
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe city's 2024 compensation report lists council members at $5,040 a year and the mayor at $8,400. City of Pacific Grove · Aug 5, 2025
- Yes: Employee pay published City of Pacific Grove
Questions to ask your council
- The city's two CalPERS plans were $53.4 million short of full funding at June 30, 2025, and $5.4 million of pension obligation bonds are still owed. What is the plan to pay these down?
- Fire service under the City of Monterey contract is budgeted at $4.1 million in FY2026-27. How will the city judge whether the contract is the best option?
The fiscal year starts July 1. The council adopts a two-year budget and updates the second year. The city manager presents the budget in May and June. The FY2026-27 update had its hearing and first reading on June 17, 2026, and the council adopted it by ordinance on July 15, 2026. See who is running for council
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