How San Marcos is run
Who runs San Marcos, 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 Marcos's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs San Marcos
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
- City contribution of 4% of base salary to a retiree health savings account since September 2025
- CalPERS pension at 2.7% at 55; she pays the member contribution and a share of the city's cost
- Car allowance of $396 a month and city-paid life insurance of two times salary, up to $400,000
- Contract term extended twice, now to September 14, 2030
- Car allowance of $300 a month
- City-paid health premiums of up to $1,999.81 a month (members pay 10% of health costs) and a $2,100 yearly flexible spending account
- City pays CalPERS and life insurance premiums
- City Council budget of $272,047 in FY2026-27, including $63,020 in salaries for five members
San Marcos city staff
476 full-time-equivalent positions, including Public safety (fire, including building) 134. FY2024-25. A head count of full-time and part-time city employees in FY2024-25, not full-time equivalents. Police services are provided by the county sheriff, so deputies are not counted. City of San Marcos · Dec 17, 2025
The city posts its full-time and part-time pay schedules with the pay range of every job title, plus the city manager's contract. Police are county sheriff's deputies, not city staff. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is San Marcos 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 it prepares a five-year general fund forecast as part of each budget. The city manager writes that labor, pension, insurance, utility and operating costs are rising faster than many traditional revenue sources. The FY2026-27 general fund budget plans revenue $133,936 above spending. Measure Q, a 1% local sales tax approved in November 2024, runs for 10 years from April 1, 2025. City of San Marcos · Jun 11, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $35.6M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Council policy sets a minimum unassigned general fund balance of 40% of annual operating expenditures, split into emergency, one-time opportunity and economic contingency/pension reserves. The FY2026-27 budget lends $7.9 million of reserves to build Fire Station 5, temporarily dropping the balance below 40%, under a repayment plan. The audited June 2025 balance equaled 33.8% of total general fund expenditures. City of San Marcos · Dec 17, 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 tax$35.7M · 34%
- Sales tax$21.7M · 21%
- Charges for services and reimbursements$15.8M · 15%
- Special assessments$8.1M · 8%
- Transfers from city businesses (Creekside Marketplace, real property) and other funds$7.8M · 8%
- Franchise fees$6M · 6%
- Use of money and property$2.9M · 3%
- Other (hotel tax, permits, licenses, grants, fines, other)$6.1M · 6%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Fire department (fire, EMS and building)$25.2M · 24%
- Law enforcement (San Diego County Sheriff contract)$25.1M · 24%
- Administration (council, manager, community services, attorney, clerk, finance, IT, other)$13.2M · 13%
- Human resources and risk management, including CalPERS unfunded liability payments$12.8M · 12%
- Public works (streets, parks and landscape, fleet, facilities)$12.6M · 12%
- Development services (planning, engineering, watershed)$8.2M · 8%
- Parks and recreation programs$5.5M · 5%
- Other (transfers out)$1.3M · 1%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
The city's own share of the 1% base levy is about 8.8 cents per $100 of assessed value, roughly 8 cents of each property-tax dollar. Rates are for tax rate area 13-066 as shown in the city's audit; other areas of the city can pay slightly different voter-approved rates.
8¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of San Marcos
- San Marcos Unified School District (share of the 1% levy)0.3805 · 35%
- San Diego County (share of the 1% levy)0.2481 · 23%
- All other agencies (share of the 1% levy)0.22 · 21%
- City of San Marcos (share of the 1% levy)0.0883 · 8%
- Voter-approved debt0.0719 · 7%
- San Marcos Fire Protection District (share of the 1% levy)The San Marcos Fire Department serves the district0.0632 · 6%
- Total ($ per $100 of assessed value)1.0719
FY2024-25 rates for a San Marcos home in tax rate area 13-066 (San Diego County). City of San Marcos · Dec 17, 2025
See what a San Marcos home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in San Marcos is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceContractorSan Diego County Sheriff's Department (city contract)City of San Marcos · Jun 11, 2026
- FireThe citySan Marcos Fire DepartmentAlso serves the San Marcos Fire Protection District; four fire stationsCity of San Marcos
- Water and sewerSeparate districtVallecitos Water DistrictCity of San Marcos
- Trash and recyclingPrivate companyEDCO Recycling & Waste CollectionCity of San Marcos
- SchoolsSeparate districtSan Marcos Unified School DistrictCity of San Marcos · Dec 17, 2025
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of San Marcos Parks and Recreation and Public WorksCity of San Marcos · Jun 11, 2026
- Building permits and inspectionThe citySan Marcos Fire Department building divisionCity of San Marcos · Jun 11, 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 | ChinoCA | MantecaCA | San MarcosCA | MercedCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 95,946 | 96,511 | 97,554 | 99,435 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $348,160 | $338,113 | Not current (2023) | $250,080 |
| Council member pay | $33,555 | $22,800 | $12,567 | $6,000 |
| General fund per resident | $1,569 | $879 | $1,065 | $689 |
| Debt per resident | $208 | $519 | $15 | $176 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $585 | $1,426 | $768 | $1,186 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 4.7 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 5.7 |
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 Marcos pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What San Marcos 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's budget page posts the FY2026-27 budget book and Budget in Brief, plus budgets back to FY2020-21. City of San Marcos
- Yes: City manager's contract findable online City of San Marcos
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineAdopted resolutions list each member's vote by name, e.g. the June 23, 2026 pay schedule passed 5-0. City of San Marcos
- Partly: Meeting videos and minutes online City of San Marcos
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public document City of San Marcos · Jun 23, 2026
- Yes: Employee pay published City of San Marcos
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2026-27 budget lends $7.9 million from reserves to build Fire Station 5, temporarily putting unassigned reserves below the council's 40% minimum. What happens if the repayment plan slips?
- The city's two CalPERS plans were $74.9 million short of full funding at June 30, 2025. What is the plan and timeline for paying that down?
- The Sheriff's contract for police costs $25.1 million in FY2026-27, about a quarter of the general fund. How does the council judge whether the contract gives good value?
- The city manager's contract started at $275,000 in 2023 and has since added cost-of-living raises, a 6% merit raise, $30,000 a year in deferred pay and a retiree health contribution. What is her current base salary?
The fiscal year runs July 1 to June 30. A Budget Review Committee of residents reviews the budget with staff. The city held a public budget workshop on April 28, 2026, and the council adopted the FY2026-27 budget in June 2026 (resolution dated June 9, 2026). See who is running for council
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