How Petaluma is run
Who runs Petaluma, 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 Petaluma's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Petaluma
A city manager appointed by the council runs the city day to day and appoints department directors. The council of seven, a mayor elected citywide plus six members elected by district, sets policy and adopts the budget. The council also appoints the city attorney and the city clerk.
What they are paid
- Contract renews each year for a new three-year term unless either side gives notice by Nov. 25
- Seven months' base pay plus health coverage as severance if fired without cause
- $400 a month car allowance
- CalPERS pension at 2% at age 60
- City-paid life insurance of 1.5 times base pay plus $75,000, up to $375,000
- 96 hours of administrative leave a year
Petaluma city staff
419 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 103, Water and utilities 78, Fire 71, Public Works 65. FY2026-27. Budgeted full-time positions, down from 423 in FY2025-26 after vacant positions were frozen or cut. City of Petaluma · May 4, 2026
Salary tables for employee groups are attached to the council's labor agreement items. We did not pull pay bands from the State Controller's database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Petaluma 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: $0 (2025-06-30). That means every dollar the general fund has saved is set aside in a named reserve or category, not that it has no savings. City of Petaluma · Dec 30, 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$16.1M · 19%
- Sales tax$15.8M · 19%
- Measure U sales tax (1 cent), transferred in$14.6M · 17%
- Charges for services (mostly ambulance fees)$14.4M · 17%
- State and other governments (mostly vehicle license fee backfill)$9.8M · 11%
- Hotel tax, transferred in$3.7M · 4%
- Franchise fees$3.6M · 4%
- Other (permits, business license tax, interest and rent, property transfer tax, fines, other transfers)$7.1M · 8%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$31.7M · 37%
- Fire and ambulance$25.8M · 30%
- Public Works$7.3M · 9%
- Finance$3.4M · 4%
- Parks and Recreation$3.1M · 4%
- Non-departmental$2.7M · 3%
- Transfers to other funds$2.5M · 3%
- Other (planning, city manager, city attorney, clerk, human resources, economic development, communications, council)$8.7M · 10%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Of each dollar of the 1% base levy, about 16 cents goes to the city. The city has no voter-approved property tax of its own on this list.
15¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Petaluma
- Petaluma schools (share of the 1% levy)0.3973 · 37%
- County of Sonoma (share of the 1% levy)0.2784 · 26%
- City of Petaluma (share of the 1% levy)0.1643 · 15%
- Other agencies' shares of the 1% levy (county library, water and flood zones, parks, air district, mosquito control and others)0.16 · 15%
- School and college bonds (Petaluma elementary and high school, Sonoma County Junior College)0.064 · 6%
- Sonoma Water, Russian River dam project0.007 · <1%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.071
FY2024-25 rates for a home in Petaluma (Sonoma County). City of Petaluma · Dec 30, 2025
See what a Petaluma house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Petaluma is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityPetaluma Police DepartmentCity of Petaluma · May 4, 2026
- FireThe cityPetaluma Fire DepartmentCity of Petaluma · May 4, 2026
- EMS / ambulanceThe cityPetaluma Fire DepartmentIts ambulances also serve much of south Sonoma County and parts of Marin County.City of Petaluma · May 4, 2026
- WaterThe cityCity of Petaluma Water Resources and UtilitiesDelivers water bought wholesale from Sonoma Water plus water from ten city wells.City of Petaluma · May 4, 2026
- SewerThe cityCity of Petaluma Water Resources and Utilities (Ellis Creek Water Recycling Facility)City of Petaluma · May 4, 2026
- StreetsThe cityCity of Petaluma Public WorksCity of Petaluma · May 4, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Petaluma Parks and Recreation DepartmentCity of Petaluma · May 4, 2026
- Airport and marinaThe cityCity of Petaluma Public WorksCity of Petaluma · May 4, 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 | National CityCA | PetalumaCA | Monterey ParkCA | CupertinoCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 58,701 | 59,160 | 59,649 | 59,765 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $300,000 | $291,000 | $315,732 | $336,810 |
| Council member pay | $20,417 | Not confirmed | $6,000 | Not current (2017) |
| General fund per resident | $1,518 | $1,443 | $1,304 | $1,838 |
| Debt per resident | $1,431 | $1,473 | $2,606 | $199 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $944 | $2,243 | $378 | $709 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 6.5 | 7.1 | 6.6 | 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). Cupertino pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Petaluma publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: City manager's contract findable onlineThe 2024 amended employment agreement is attached to the April 8, 2024 council agenda item in the city's agenda portal. City of Petaluma · Apr 8, 2024
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member online City of Petaluma · May 18, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineThe city's agenda portal posts agendas, packets, minutes and video links for council meetings. City of Petaluma
- Partly: Council pay stated in a public documentThe charter sets $5 per meeting for council members and $10 for the mayor. The budget shows only a council-wide salary total of $43,686. City of Petaluma · May 4, 2026
- Yes: Employee pay published City of Petaluma · Jun 15, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The city's two CalPERS plans were $132.7 million short of full funding on June 30, 2025, and the yearly payment toward that shortfall is projected to peak in FY2031-32. How will the general fund absorb the increase?
- Measure U sends $14.6 million to the general fund in FY2026-27. How would services change if that money were not there?
The fiscal year starts July 1. The city manager delivers the proposed budget at the first council meeting in May (May 4, 2026 this year), the council holds a workshop (May 11), adopts the budget resolution and introduces the appropriations ordinance (May 18), and adopts the ordinance on second reading (June 8, 2026). The long-term forecast is updated again at the mid-year review in February. See who is running for council
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