How Rancho Santa Margarita is run
Who runs Rancho Santa Margarita, 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 Santa Margarita's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Rancho Santa Margarita
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
- $500 a month car allowance
- Monthly health benefits allowance ($2,000 in the contract); unused amounts are paid as taxable income
- 264 hours of paid leave a year, with unused hours paid out when she leaves
- A $2,000 monthly allowance for medical, dental and vision benefits
- City pays $57.47 a month (12.4% of salary) into a 457 deferred compensation plan; members are not in CalPERS
Rancho Santa Margarita city staff
31 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2026-27. City of Rancho Santa Margarita · Jun 10, 2026
The city posts its salary resolution with pay ranges for every job and a yearly table of pay for the council and staff earning over $100,000. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Rancho Santa Margarita 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: $13.2M (2025-06-30). City of Rancho Santa Margarita · Dec 5, 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
- Sales tax$8.7M · 33%
- Property tax in lieu of vehicle license fees$6.6M · 25%
- Property tax$3.6M · 14%
- Franchise fees (electricity, trash, cable, gas)$1.5M · 6%
- Use of reserves$1.2M · 5%
- Investment earnings$1M · 4%
- Transfers from gas tax and Measure M funds$1M · 4%
- Building permit fees$642,411 · 2%
- Other$1.9M · 7%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police (sheriff's contract)$13.4M · 51%
- Public works, streets and buildings$3.4M · 13%
- General government (council, manager, attorney, clerk, HR)$2.6M · 10%
- Planning and building$1.7M · 7%
- Finance and citywide costs$1.6M · 6%
- Capital projects (transfer)$1.1M · 4%
- Community services$1.1M · 4%
- Other (debt payment, animal control)$1.3M · 5%
Who provides your services
Not everything in Rancho Santa Margarita is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe countyOrange County Sheriff's Department (city contract)About 51% of general fund spendingCity of Rancho Santa Margarita
- Fire and paramedicsSeparate districtOrange County Fire AuthorityOne station in the city, Fire Station 45City of Rancho Santa Margarita
- Water and sewerSeparate districtSanta Margarita Water DistrictSanta Margarita Water District
- Trash and recyclingContractorCR&R (city franchise agreement)City of Rancho Santa Margarita
- Animal controlAnother agencyCity of Mission Viejo (city contract)City of Rancho Santa Margarita
- ParksPrivate companySAMLARC and other homeowners associationsThe community parks are privately owned and maintainedCity of Rancho Santa Margarita
- City streetsThe cityCity of Rancho Santa MargaritaCity of Rancho Santa Margarita · Dec 5, 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 | CoachellaCA | El CentroCA | Rancho Santa MargaritaCA | Morgan HillCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 45,300 | 45,716 | 46,217 | 47,074 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $299,998 | $240,000 | $342,047 | $335,464 |
| Council member pay | $8,400 | Not confirmed | $5,562 | $15,300 |
| General fund per resident | $1,051 | $991 | $568 | $1,415 |
| Debt per resident | $1,246 | $5,413 | $125 | $948 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $79 | $1,259 | $49 | $1,293 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 2.4 | 6.0 | 0.7 | 4.6 |
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). Coachella and Rancho Santa Margarita and Morgan Hill pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Rancho Santa Margarita 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 Rancho Santa Margarita
- Yes: City manager's contract findable online City of Rancho Santa Margarita
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member online City of Rancho Santa Margarita · Jun 10, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineMeeting videos, agendas and minutes are posted on the city's Granicus meeting portal. City of Rancho Santa Margarita
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe Council Compensation page states the $463.50 monthly salary and benefits and posts the 2005 ordinance. City of Rancho Santa Margarita
- Yes: Employee pay published City of Rancho Santa Margarita
Questions to ask your council
- Police services, mostly the sheriff's contract, are $13.4 million of the $26.3 million FY2026-27 general fund budget. How would the city cover a larger increase after county deputy pay talks?
The fiscal year starts July 1. The council held a budget workshop on May 13, 2026, then held a public hearing and adopted the FY2026-27 budget 5-0 on June 10, 2026. See who is running for council
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