How Patterson is run
Who runs Patterson, 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 Patterson's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Patterson
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
- Six months' pay as severance if fired without cause, plus three months of health premiums
- Vehicle allowance of $500 a month
- 25 vacation days and 112 hours of administrative leave a year
- $100,000 life insurance, city medical contribution at the Kaiser family rate, and retiree dental and vision
Patterson city staff
161 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2025. City of Patterson · Feb 20, 2026
The city posts salary ranges for every job title by bargaining group. We did not find a city list of pay by employee. Named pay here is only for elected officials and the city manager. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Patterson 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 manager said the FY2026-27 budget uses one-time fund balance and defers basic needs such as roads, drinking water protection and fire and emergency medical response, and that these cannot be long-term deferments. Staff expect about $1.0M of available general fund balance at the end of FY2026-27. In June 2026 the council placed a one-cent general sales tax on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot. We found no multi-year general fund forecast. City of Patterson · Jun 2, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $6.6M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep an operating reserve equal to five months of general fund operating spending, counted as the emergency contingency plus unassigned balance. At June 30, 2025 the council had also committed $12.1M of general fund balance for contingencies. City of Patterson · Feb 20, 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
- Sales tax$13.2M · 32%
- Transfers in from other funds (including $5.5M of 2013 bond money for capital projects)$11.5M · 28%
- Property taxes (including property tax in lieu of vehicle license fees)$10M · 24%
- Other revenue (reimbursements and miscellaneous)$1.9M · 5%
- Interest$1.1M · 3%
- Charges for services$712,210 · 2%
- Other (permits, franchise fees, hotel tax, fines, state aid)$1.3M · 3%
- From savings (fund balance)$1.4M · 3%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police (Stanislaus County Sheriff contract)$8.3M · 20%
- Capital projects$5.5M · 13%
- Parks, recreation and senior center$6.8M · 16%
- Fire$5.4M · 13%
- Administration (council, manager, attorney, finance, HR, citywide costs)$8.6M · 21%
- Streets and urban forestry$2.6M · 6%
- Planning, building, code enforcement and engineering$2.6M · 6%
- Other (building maintenance, transfers out)$1.3M · 3%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Most of the bill is the 1% general levy, which Stanislaus County splits among local agencies. The rest is voter-approved school and college bonds. The city has no voter-approved debt rate of its own on this bill.
0¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Patterson
- 1% general levy (shared by Stanislaus County, the city, schools and special districts)1 · 87%
- Patterson Joint Unified School District bonds0.124454 · 11%
- Yosemite Community College District bonds0.023828 · 2%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.148282
FY2025-26 rates for a home in the city of Patterson (Stanislaus County, tax rate area 005-001). County of Stanislaus Auditor-Controller · Nov 3, 2025
Who provides your services
Not everything in Patterson is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe countyStanislaus County Sheriff's OfficeCity of Patterson · Feb 20, 2026
- FireThe cityPatterson Fire DepartmentAlso covers parts of the West Stanislaus Fire Protection District by automatic aidCity of Patterson · Jun 2, 2026
- Emergency medical responseThe cityPatterson Fire Department (advanced life support)City of Patterson · Jun 2, 2026
- WaterThe cityCity of Patterson Public WorksCity of Patterson · Jun 2, 2026
- SewerThe cityCity of Patterson Public WorksCity of Patterson · Jun 2, 2026
- StreetsThe cityCity of Patterson Public WorksCity of Patterson · Feb 20, 2026
- ParksThe cityCity of Patterson Public WorksCity of Patterson · Feb 20, 2026
- Recreation and senior centerThe cityCity of Patterson Recreation and Community ServicesCity of Patterson · Feb 20, 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 | HerculesCA | South PasadenaCA | PattersonCA | RiverbankCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 26,323 | 26,380 | 26,386 | 26,594 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $260,000 | $312,000 | $244,660 | Not current (2022) |
| Council member pay | $9,979 | $11,400 | Not confirmed | $10,800 |
| General fund per resident | $813 | $1,697 | $1,560 | $705 |
| Debt per resident | $1,767 | $1,979 | $3,245 | $218 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $798 | $1,735 | $478 | $352 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 2.5 | 6.7 | 6.1 | — |
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). Hercules and Patterson and Riverbank pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Patterson 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 Patterson
- Yes: City manager's contract findable online City of Patterson · Dec 4, 2024
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member online City of Patterson · Jun 16, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes online City of Patterson
- Partly: Council pay stated in a public documentThe municipal code sets $396 a month for council members and $660 for the mayor. We read it in an archived copy; the current code site would not load. City of Patterson
- Yes: Employee pay published City of Patterson
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2026-27 general fund budget draws on savings, and the city manager says it defers road, water and fire needs. Which of those would come first if the November 2026 sales tax passes?
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $6.6 million on June 30, 2025, with another $12.1 million committed for contingencies. Will the council adopt the reserve set-aside policy a council member asked about in June 2026?
- CalPERS reported the city's two pension plans $12.6 million short at June 30, 2025. Does the city plan extra payments to close that gap?
- Police is the largest department cost in the FY2026-27 general fund, and the service is provided by the county sheriff. How will that cost change as the city grows?
The fiscal year starts July 1. The council held a budget workshop on Feb. 10, 2026, staff presented the proposed budget on June 2, 2026, and the council adopted the FY2026-27 budget 4-0 on June 16, 2026. City code requires adoption by June 30. See who is running for council
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