How Rancho Palos Verdes is run
Who runs Rancho Palos Verdes, 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 Rancho Palos Verdes's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Rancho Palos Verdes
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
Rancho Palos Verdes city staff
106 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2026-27. 76 funded full-time positions plus about 30 full-time equivalents of part-time staff. Two full-time positions are frozen and two more are unfunded this year. City of Rancho Palos Verdes · Jun 16, 2026
The city posts its salary schedule and a yearly pay and benefits report listing every employee and council member by name. In 2025, 179 people received a total of $13.5 million in pay and benefits. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Rancho Palos Verdes 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 says the FY2026-27 general fund is structurally balanced: $42.5M of revenue against $37.5M of operating spending, about $5.0M before transfers. Its 10-year model shows the general fund staying balanced, but spending grows faster than revenue, leaving less each year for capital and landslide needs. The city projects about $72.1M of landslide response costs from October 2022 through June 2027. City of Rancho Palos Verdes · Jun 16, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $31.6M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep general fund balance of at least 50% of yearly operating spending (City Council Policy No. 41). The city also keeps a separate $5.0M reserve in its capital fund. The city meets this target. City of Rancho Palos Verdes · Feb 20, 2026
Bar: unassigned savings of $31.6M. Line: the amount the city's target calls for.
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 tax$19M · 45%
- Hotel tax (transient occupancy tax)$6.8M · 16%
- Permits and fees$3.6M · 8%
- Sales tax$3M · 7%
- Utility users tax$2.9M · 7%
- Franchise taxes$2.5M · 6%
- Other taxes and miscellaneous revenue$4.6M · 11%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Public safety (Sheriff's contract and city public safety staff)$9.9M · 24%
- Public works$7.9M · 19%
- Recreation and parks$5.1M · 12%
- City administration$4.6M · 11%
- Community development$4.4M · 11%
- Yearly transfers to the capital projects fund and other funds$3.8M · 9%
- Non-departmental$2.4M · 6%
- Other (finance, city attorney, city council)$3.1M · 7%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
The 1% base levy is shared among local agencies; the city gets about 5.7 cents of each dollar of it. Voter-approved school, college and water district debt rates are added on top. The city has no voter-approved property tax rate of its own.
5¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Rancho Palos Verdes
- Los Angeles County (general)0.257974 · 24%
- State school shift (ERAF and Educational Augmentation Fund)0.213432 · 20%
- Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District0.196986 · 18%
- Los Angeles County Fire Protection District0.176625 · 16%
- Other base-levy shares (library, flood control, sanitation, community college, others)0.098179 · 9%
- City of Rancho Palos Verdes0.056804 · 5%
- Community college district bonds0.051361 · 5%
- Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District bonds0.022728 · 2%
- Metropolitan Water District0.007 · <1%
- Total (% of assessed value)1.081089
FY2024-25 rates for a home in Rancho Palos Verdes (tax rate area 149, Los Angeles County). City of Rancho Palos Verdes · Feb 20, 2026
See what a Rancho Palos Verdes home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Rancho Palos Verdes is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceContractorLos Angeles County Sheriff's Department (Lomita Station)Shared with Rolling Hills and Rolling Hills Estates under a regional agreementCity of Rancho Palos Verdes
- Fire protectionThe countyLos Angeles County Fire DepartmentCity of Rancho Palos Verdes
- Beach lifeguardsThe countyLos Angeles County Fire DepartmentCity of Rancho Palos Verdes
- SewerThe countyLos Angeles County (operates and maintains the city-owned system)Except the Abalone Cove sewer system, which the city runsCity of Rancho Palos Verdes
- Trash and recyclingContractorEDCO Disposal (exclusive city franchise)City of Rancho Palos Verdes
- Streets and storm drainsThe cityCity of Rancho Palos Verdes Public WorksAbout 150 miles of public streetsCity of Rancho Palos Verdes
- LibrarySeparate districtPalos Verdes Library DistrictCity of Rancho Palos Verdes
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 | CalexicoCA | Culver CityCA | Rancho Palos VerdesCA | LathropCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 39,881 | 40,730 | 40,893 | 40,942 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $220,000 | $370,000 | $282,014 | $320,961 |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | $15,135 | $4,800 | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $623 | $5,042 | $1,008 | $1,082 |
| Debt per resident | $995 | $384 | $141 | $333 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $919 | $7,687 | $388 | $210 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 4.7 | 21.2 | 2.6 | 4.8 |
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). Rancho Palos Verdes and Lathrop pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Rancho Palos Verdes publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe city budget page posts the FY2026-27 adopted budget, a budget in brief, and adopted budgets back to FY2003-04. City of Rancho Palos Verdes
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineMinutes list each member's aye or no vote by name, e.g. the 5-0 vote adopting the FY2026-27 budget on June 16, 2026. City of Rancho Palos Verdes · Jun 16, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes online City of Rancho Palos Verdes
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe city's yearly compensation report lists each council member's $4,800 salary and total pay by name. City of Rancho Palos Verdes · Jun 2, 2026
- Yes: Employee pay published City of Rancho Palos Verdes
Questions to ask your council
- The city projects about $72.1 million in landslide response costs from October 2022 through June 2027. How much of that does it expect other agencies to pay?
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $31.6 million on June 30, 2025, above the $17.7 million the 50% policy requires. How much above the minimum does the council plan to keep?
- The CalPERS plan was 76.2% funded in June 2025, with $15.9 million unfunded. Will the extra yearly payments toward that balance continue?
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