How Palm Desert is run
Who runs Palm Desert, 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 Palm Desert's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Palm Desert
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 9 months' pay if removed without cause in the first three years, 6 months after that
- CalPERS pension at the 2% at 55 formula
- Car allowance of $600 a month
- City match of up to 2% of salary in a 401(a) plan, plus a 457 plan
- Retiree Health Savings Plan, like other managers hired after 2014
Palm Desert city staff
166 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2026-27. City of Palm Desert · Jun 25, 2026
The city adopts a salary schedule with pay ranges for every job grade each year. We did not pull pay bands from the State Controller's pay database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Palm Desert 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 ten-year forecast from January 2026 shows general fund spending above revenue in most years, with the yearly gap reaching $18.3M in FY2034-35. With reserves also paying for parks, a new library and other projects, the forecast shows the general fund balance falling from $116.5M to $8.6M by FY2034-35. The FY2026-27 budget itself shows a $69,015 surplus. City of Palm Desert · Jan 22, 2026
Savings
Unassigned general fund balance: $36.4M (2025-06-30). City of Palm Desert · Jan 30, 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 FY2026-27.
Comes from
- Measure G 1% district sales tax$27.5M · 24%
- Sales tax$25.2M · 22%
- Hotel and short-term rental tax$23.5M · 21%
- Property tax$12.4M · 11%
- State payments (vehicle license fee and other)$6.5M · 6%
- Interest and rents$4.3M · 4%
- Franchise fees$4.2M · 4%
- Other (permits, timeshare fee, reimbursements, business license, transfers in)$9.1M · 8%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police (Riverside County Sheriff contract)$30.4M · 27%
- Transfers to other funds (fire, capital projects, library and others)$27.2M · 24%
- General services$6.7M · 6%
- Information technology$4.3M · 4%
- Community services$3.9M · 3%
- Streets$3.2M · 3%
- Finance$3.1M · 3%
- Development services$2.9M · 3%
- Other departments$31M · 28%
Who provides your services
Not everything in Palm Desert is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe countyRiverside County Sheriff's DepartmentContract cost $28.3M in FY2026-27City of Palm Desert · Jun 25, 2026
- FireThe countyRiverside County Fire Department (CAL FIRE)City of Palm Desert
- EMS / ambulanceThe countyRiverside County Fire Department (CAL FIRE)City of Palm Desert
- Trash and recyclingContractorBurrtec Waste and Recycling ServicesCity of Palm Desert
- ElectricityPrivate companySouthern California EdisonCity of Palm Desert
- LibraryThe cityCity of Palm Desert Library ServicesTaken over from the Riverside County Library System on July 1, 2024City of Palm Desert
- Recreation programs and park staffingSeparate districtDesert Recreation DistrictCity of Palm Desert
- Animal control and shelterThe countyRiverside County Department of Animal ServicesCity of Palm Desert
- City streetsThe cityCity of Palm DesertCity of Palm Desert · Jan 30, 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 | Palm DesertCA | DelanoCA | ColtonCA | Huntington ParkCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 52,326 | 52,384 | 52,844 | 52,961 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $294,975 | Not confirmed | $336,000 | $270,000 |
| Council member pay | $37,380 | Not confirmed | $5,280 | $27,276 |
| General fund per resident | $2,151 | $701 | $1,438 | $827 |
| Debt per resident | $22 | $739 | $1,142 | $73 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $778 | $478 | $2,447 | $1,372 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 3.2 | 4.6 | 7.2 | 5.0 |
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). Palm Desert and Delano and Huntington Park pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Palm Desert publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe salary schedule adopted with the budget lists City Council pay of $37,380 a year. City of Palm Desert · Jun 25, 2026
- Partly: Employee pay published City of Palm Desert · Jun 25, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The January 2026 ten-year forecast shows general fund spending exceeding revenue by $18.3 million in FY2034-35. What changes would close that gap?
- Measure G's 1% district sales tax is budgeted at $27.5 million in FY2026-27. How will residents see what it pays for each year?
- The city's CalPERS plan was 77.5% funded, with $40.7 million unfunded, at June 30, 2025. Does the city plan extra payments?
The fiscal year starts July 1. The council sets its goals each February and gets a midyear budget update. Staff present the proposed financial plan at a May study session (May 14, 2026), and the council holds a public hearing and adopts the budget in late June (June 25, 2026). See who is running for council
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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?
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