How Pleasanton is run
Who runs Pleasanton, 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 Pleasanton's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Pleasanton
A city manager hired by the council runs the city day to day and appoints department directors. The five-member council (a mayor elected citywide and four members elected by district) sets policy, adopts the budget and appoints the city manager and city attorney. Joe Calabrigo is serving as interim city manager while the council searches for a permanent one.
What they are paid
Pleasanton city staff
433 full-time-equivalent positions, including Public safety (police and the city's share of fire) 183. FY2025. Includes Pleasanton's share of the joint Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department staff. City of Pleasanton · Dec 30, 2025
The city posts salary schedules for every employee group, including the city manager and city attorney's monthly pay. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Pleasanton 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 FY2026-27 mid-term budget uses $6.0 million of one-time money (capital reserve, strategic plan reserve, and pension and retiree medical trust funds) to balance the general fund, which the city says is not sustainable. Its ten-year forecast shows yearly deficits of $7.2 million to $8.3 million from FY2027-28 to FY2030-31, not counting a $44 million yearly infrastructure funding gap. On Nov. 3, 2026 voters decide whether to raise the hotel tax from 8% to 10% and then 12% (Measure HH), estimated at $1.4 million to $2.8 million a year. City of Pleasanton · May 19, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $37.7M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep general fund reserves between 16.7% and 25% of operating spending, with a target of 20%. Spending from unassigned fund balance needs a council resolution. The audited report says the June 2025 balance meets the 20% target. The city meets this target. City of Pleasanton · 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$99.6M · 58%
- Sales and use taxes$25.8M · 15%
- Other revenue$14.2M · 8%
- Business license tax$6.7M · 4%
- Hotel tax (transient occupancy)$5.6M · 3%
- Recreation revenue$5.2M · 3%
- Transfers in$4M · 2%
- Remaining (franchise fees, permits, other taxes, use of reserves)$10.6M · 6%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Salaries and benefits (not counting pensions)$67.5M · 39%
- Materials, supplies and services$33.4M · 19%
- Pensions (including fire)$28M · 16%
- Fire department (Pleasanton's share of the joint department, not counting pensions)$23M · 13%
- Repairs and maintenance (including replacement funds)$5.8M · 3%
- Deferred infrastructure$5.5M · 3%
- Transfers to capital projects$3.3M · 2%
- Other (operating transfers, training and travel, equipment, leases)$4.9M · 3%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
California caps the base property tax at 1% of assessed value; voter-approved bond rates are added on top. About 25 cents of each dollar of the 1% base levy in Pleasanton goes to the city. The city's table also lists bond rates for the Dublin, Livermore and Sunol school districts, which apply only to the parts of Pleasanton inside those districts; they are left out here.
22¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Pleasanton
- Alameda County, schools and other agencies (rest of the 1% base levy)0.7451 · 64%
- City of Pleasanton (share of the 1% base levy)0.255 · 22%
- Pleasanton Unified School District (voter-approved bonds)0.0805 · 7%
- Community college district (voter-approved bonds)0.0393 · 3%
- Zone 7 Water Agency (flood control and water)0.0243 · 2%
- BART0.0148 · 1%
- Alameda County voter-approved bonds0.0089 · <1%
- East Bay Regional Park District0.0013 · <1%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.1692
FY2024-25 rates for a home in the city of Pleasanton in Pleasanton Unified School District (Alameda County). City of Pleasanton · Dec 30, 2025
See what a Pleasanton home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Pleasanton is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityPleasanton Police DepartmentCity of Pleasanton · Dec 30, 2025
- FireThe cityLivermore-Pleasanton Fire Department (run jointly with the City of Livermore)Pleasanton pays about half of the joint department's costs.City of Pleasanton · Dec 30, 2025
- 911 dispatchThe cityPleasanton Police Department Dispatch UnitCity of Pleasanton
- WaterThe cityCity of Pleasanton (buys all its water from Zone 7 Water Agency)City of Pleasanton · Jun 17, 2025
- SewerThe cityCity of Pleasanton (collection); Dublin San Ramon Services District (treatment)City of Pleasanton · Dec 30, 2025
- LibraryThe cityPleasanton Public Library (city)City of Pleasanton · Dec 30, 2025
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Pleasanton Library & Recreation and Public WorksCity of Pleasanton · Dec 30, 2025
- City streetsThe cityCity of Pleasanton Public WorksCity of Pleasanton · Dec 30, 2025
- Golf course and cemeteryThe cityCity of PleasantonCity of Pleasanton · Dec 30, 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 | Apple ValleyCA | PleasantonCA | BellflowerCA | PittsburgCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 75,236 | 76,149 | 76,203 | 76,484 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $290,004 | Not confirmed | $271,000 | $312,236 |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | $20,755 | $6,000 |
| General fund per resident | $652 | $2,251 | $729 | $912 |
| Debt per resident | $205 | $564 | $252 | $1,330 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $238 | $2,924 | $61 | $1,081 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | — | 5.7 | 1.4 | 4.1 |
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). Apple Valley and Bellflower and Pittsburg pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Pleasanton publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineResolutions list each member's vote, e.g. the 5-0 vote adopting the FY2026-27 mid-term budget on May 19, 2026. City of Pleasanton · May 19, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineMeetings stream on the city's YouTube channel and TV30, and agendas, staff reports and minutes are posted online. City of Pleasanton
- No: Council pay stated in a public documentThe city's salaries page posts staff and executive pay schedules but not council pay. Older staff reports are scanned files in the agenda archive. City of Pleasanton
- Yes: Employee pay published City of Pleasanton
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2026-27 budget uses $6.0 million of one-time money, and the forecast shows deficits of $7.2 million to $8.3 million a year starting in FY2027-28. What will the city cut or add if Measure HH fails?
- The ten-year forecast leaves out a $44.0 million yearly infrastructure funding gap. Which streets, buildings and vehicles will wait, and for how long?
- Net pension liability was $222.7 million in the June 30, 2025 audit, with $56.3 million in a pension trust. How much of the trust will be drawn to balance future budgets?
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $37.7 million on June 30, 2025, meeting the 20% target. With yearly deficits forecast, how long can the city stay above its 16.7% minimum?
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