How San Pablo is run
Who runs San Pablo, 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 Pablo's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs San Pablo
A city manager hired by the council runs the city day to day and appoints department directors. The five council members, elected citywide to staggered four-year terms, set policy and pass ordinances. Each year the council picks one of its members to serve as mayor.
What they are paid
- One year's salary as severance if fired, after signing a release
- City pays COBRA health and dental premiums for up to the same period after a firing
- $500 a month car allowance
- City pays $12,500 a year into his 457 deferred compensation account, plus 0.5% of salary more each January up to the IRS limit
- $5,000 bonus every three years after a satisfactory council evaluation
- Paid for half of unused sick leave on leaving the city
- City pays 90% of medical premiums, up to the Kaiser rate
- City pays dental premiums
- City-paid $60,000 life insurance
- Members who decline city medical get $350 to $500 into a deferred compensation account
San Pablo city staff
157 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 84, Public works 26, General government 22, Community services 13, Development services 12. FY2024-25. City of San Pablo · Dec 19, 2025
The city posts salary schedules for each employee group, including the city manager's and city attorney's monthly pay. We found no city list of pay by employee. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is San Pablo 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
Casino payments are about 59% of the general fund, and the city projects them to grow just 0.6% a year, down from a historical 5.6%. The two-year budget uses $2.0 million of one-time reserves to close remaining gaps of $812,975 in FY2026-27 and $1.2 million in FY2027-28. The Measure S sales tax drops from 0.50 to 0.25 cents on Oct. 1, 2027, costing about $1 million a year. Measure R, on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot, would add a half-cent sales tax raising about $2 million a year. City of San Pablo
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $3M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: The city's Fiscal Resiliency Reserve Policy keeps its reserves in assigned, not unassigned, fund balance. The largest is a Catastrophic Reserve equal to 50% of the yearly operating budget; another holds money against a loss of casino revenue. On June 30, 2025 these reserves totaled $57.3 million. The budget message says operating reserves fell from $63 million in December 2023 to $51.8 million. City of San Pablo · Dec 19, 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
- Casino payments (Lytton Band contract and in-lieu tax payment)$33.3M · 55%
- Property taxes (incl. in-lieu vehicle license fees)$6.1M · 10%
- Sales taxes (incl. Measure S)$5.1M · 8%
- Interest and property rents$3.8M · 6%
- Utility users tax$3.2M · 5%
- Sale of city property$2M · 3%
- Other (franchise and other taxes, grants, fees, cannabis, transfers in)$3.4M · 6%
- Shortfall in the general funds$3.5M · 6%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$24.5M · 41%
- Citywide costs (pension and retiree health, insurance, contracts)$15M · 25%
- Transfers to other funds (streets, debt payments, capital)$7.7M · 13%
- Community services$3.7M · 6%
- Public works$2.9M · 5%
- City manager's office$2.8M · 5%
- Administrative services (finance, IT)$2.7M · 5%
- Other (city attorney, city council)$1.1M · 2%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Every property pays the 1% base levy, which the county collects and shares among local agencies; the city's share is about 9.8%. Voter-approved add-ons for schools, BART, the community college and regional parks bring the total to about 1.28%.
0¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of San Pablo
- 1% base levy (shared by the county, city, schools and others)The city's share is about 9.8 cents of each base-levy dollar1 · 78%
- West Contra Costa Unified School District0.2489 · 19%
- BART0.0148 · 1%
- Contra Costa Community College District0.0142 · 1%
- East Bay Regional Park District0.0013 · <1%
- Total (percent of assessed value)1.2792
FY2024-25 rates for a home in the city of San Pablo (Contra Costa County). City of San Pablo · Dec 19, 2025
See what a San Pablo house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in San Pablo is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe citySan Pablo Police DepartmentCity of San Pablo · Dec 19, 2025
- Emergency medical servicesSeparate districtContra Costa County Fire Protection District (ConFire)City of San Pablo · Jun 1, 2026
- WaterSeparate districtEast Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD)City of San Pablo · Dec 19, 2025
- SewerSeparate districtWest County Wastewater DistrictCity of San Pablo · Dec 19, 2025
- Trash and recyclingContractorRepublic ServicesCity of San Pablo · Dec 19, 2025
- SchoolsSeparate districtWest Contra Costa Unified School DistrictCity of San Pablo
- LibraryThe countyContra Costa County LibraryCity of San Pablo
- Animal controlThe countyContra Costa County Animal ServicesCity of San Pablo
- StreetsThe cityCity of San Pablo Public WorksCity of San Pablo · Dec 19, 2025
- Recreation and senior servicesThe cityCity of San Pablo Community ServicesCity of San Pablo · Dec 19, 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 | SaratogaCA | La VerneCA | San PabloCA | Paso RoblesCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 31,261 | 31,466 | 31,468 | 31,525 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $335,000 | $275,679 | $327,180 | $269,000 |
| Council member pay | $3,000 | $11,400 | $17,064 | $13,860 |
| General fund per resident | $1,114 | $1,557 | $1,919 | $1,793 |
| Debt per resident | $165 | $1,556 | $1,587 | $1,681 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $302 | $746 | $1,875 | $1,611 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 1.8 | 6.3 | 5.0 | 10.0 |
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). Saratoga pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What San Pablo publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe FY2026-27 and FY2027-28 budget, adopted June 15, 2026, is posted as an online budget book and in the council agenda packet. City of San Pablo
- Yes: City manager's contract findable onlineThe amended employment agreement is attached to Legistar item 23-295 (July 2023). City of San Pablo · Jul 17, 2023
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member online City of San Pablo · Jun 15, 2026
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentOrdinance 2024-005 sets council pay at $1,422 a month, and the city posts an elected officials' pay and benefits chart. City of San Pablo · Oct 21, 2024
- Partly: Employee pay published City of San Pablo
Questions to ask your council
- Casino payments are about 59% of the general fund and are projected to grow 0.6% a year. What is the plan if a proposed Solano County casino cuts them further?
- The two-year budget uses $2.0 million of one-time reserves, and operating reserves fell from $63 million to $51.8 million since December 2023. At what level would the council stop using reserves for operations?
- Measure S drops to a quarter cent on Oct. 1, 2027, costing about $1 million a year. If Measure R fails on Nov. 3, 2026, which services would change?
- CalPERS unfunded liability payments rise to $5.8 million in FY2026-27, and net pension liability was $59.0 million. How does the city plan to pay this down?
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