How San Anselmo is run
Who runs San Anselmo, 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 San Anselmo's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs San Anselmo
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
- Car allowance of $400 a month
- CalPERS retirement; he pays the full employee share plus 2% of the employer share
- Severance of six months' pay, plus up to six months of health coverage, if dismissed without cause
- Council salaries budget: $38,100 for all five members (FY2026-27)
- Council training and conference budget: $18,000 (FY2026-27)
San Anselmo city staff
The budget lists positions by department but gives no townwide total. Police officers and firefighters work for the two joint agencies, not the town. The town posts salary schedules and links to the State Controller's pay database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is San Anselmo 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 against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $2.2M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: A February 2023 council policy calls for an emergency and cash flow reserve of at least 20% of general fund operating spending, plus a pension rate stabilization reserve of at least 5% of eligible wages. The town holds these as committed balances ($4,529,811 and $221,391 on June 30, 2025), separate from the unassigned balance. Town of San Anselmo · Dec 8, 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
- Secured property tax$10.5M · 44%
- Pension override property tax$3.3M · 14%
- Property tax in lieu of vehicle license fees$2.1M · 9%
- Sales taxes (state 1% and Prop 172)$1.7M · 7%
- Excess school-shift property tax (ERAF) returned by the county$1.6M · 7%
- Licenses, permits, fees and fines$1.6M · 7%
- Franchise taxes (garbage, cable, PG&E)$1.1M · 4%
- Other (other property taxes, transfers in, interest, fees, misc.)$2.1M · 9%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Fire (Ross Valley Fire Department)$6.2M · 26%
- Police (Central Marin Police Authority)$6M · 25%
- Street and park maintenance$2.2M · 9%
- Administration and finance$1.9M · 8%
- Community development (planning and building)$1.9M · 8%
- Non-departmental (insurance, retiree health, regional agencies)$1.8M · 7%
- Library$1M · 4%
- Transfers to other funds (mostly road maintenance)$639,000 · 3%
- Other (engineering, pension bond payments, recreation, legal, council)$2.2M · 9%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
This shows how the 1% base levy is divided. The town says it receives about 26 cents of each dollar. Voter-approved taxes on the same bill, such as the town's pension override tax of $0.059 per $100 of assessed value, school bonds and parcel taxes, come on top and are not shown.
26¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of San Anselmo
- Town of San Anselmo general fund0.2132 · 21%
- Ross Valley School District0.1942 · 19%
- Marin County0.1629 · 16%
- Tamalpais Union High School District0.1259 · 13%
- School shift (ERAF) from the county's share0.08704 · 9%
- Marin Community College0.0674 · 7%
- School shift (ERAF) from the town's share, partly returned to the town0.05129 · 5%
- Ross Valley Sanitary District0.0421 · 4%
- Marin County School Service Fund0.0231 · 2%
- School shift (ERAF) from the sanitary district's share0.01246 · 1%
- Marin County Open Space0.00981 · <1%
- Marin County Transit District0.00573 · <1%
- Marin-Sonoma Mosquito and Vector District0.00293 · <1%
- Bay Area Air Quality Management District0.00188 · <1%
- Total (dollars of each base-levy dollar)1
FY2026-27 split of the 1% base property tax for a home in San Anselmo (Marin County). Town of San Anselmo · Jun 23, 2026
Who provides your services
Not everything in San Anselmo is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceAnother agencyCentral Marin Police Authority (shared with Larkspur and Corte Madera)Town of San Anselmo
- FireAnother agencyRoss Valley Fire Department (shared with Fairfax, Ross and Sleepy Hollow)Town of San Anselmo
- SewerSeparate districtRoss Valley Sanitary DistrictCollects sewage and sends it to the Central Marin Sanitation AgencyMarin LAFCo
- LibraryThe citySan Anselmo Public Library (town)Town of San Anselmo
- ParksThe cityTown Public Works DepartmentTown of San Anselmo
- City streetsThe cityTown Public Works DepartmentTown of San Anselmo
- Animal controlContractorMarin Humane SocietyTown of San Anselmo
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 | NewmanCA | San AnselmoCA | Grover BeachCA | San MarinoCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 12,362 | 12,474 | 12,502 | 12,513 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $228,012 | $295,992 | $273,780 | $289,596 |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | $3,600 | $8,640 | No salary |
| General fund per resident | $699 | $1,910 | $1,550 | $2,991 |
| Debt per resident | $726 | $733 | $3,108 | $0 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $564 | $149 | $1,284 | $3,479 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 7.4 | — | 5.6 | 10.3 |
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). San Anselmo and Grover Beach pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What San Anselmo 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 onlineAdopted resolutions list each member's vote, e.g. the 5-0 vote on management pay in December 2025. Town of San Anselmo
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe budget states $300 a month per council member, rising to $950 a month in December 2026. Town of San Anselmo
- Partly: Employee pay published Town of San Anselmo
Questions to ask your council
- Council pay rises from $300 to $950 a month in December 2026. How was the new amount chosen?
- Fire ($6,249,367) and police ($6,043,271) payments to the two joint agencies are about half of the FY2026-27 general fund budget. How does the town review these costs each year?
- The pension override property tax is budgeted at $3,289,650 in FY2026-27, while the town's own CalPERS net pension liability was $1,859,192. How does the council set the yearly rate?
The fiscal year starts July 1. The town manager oversees preparation of the annual budget, and the council adopts it to take effect July 1; the council may amend it during the year. The Infrastructure and Fiscal Monitoring Committee reviews the budget and capital plan and advises the council. See who is running for council
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