How Santa Cruz is run
Who runs Santa Cruz, 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 Santa Cruz's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Santa Cruz
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 deferred compensation contribution of 3% of base salary
- Severance of eight months' salary if terminated without cause
- Automatic cost-of-living raises matching those given to executive employees
- Same benefit package as the city's other executive employees
- Vacation accrual of 160 hours a year
- Contract term runs from January 3, 2022 through January 1, 2027
Santa Cruz city staff
983 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2026-27. Total positions authorized in the adopted FY2026-27 budget, a net decrease of 3.5 from the amended FY2025-26 budget. City of Santa Cruz
The city posts salary schedules for every employee group, its labor agreements and the City Manager's employment contract on its Human Resources page. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Santa Cruz 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: $7.2M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: A 2013 council resolution sets an emergency contingency reserve of at least two months of the adopted general fund operating budget. The audited report says the $7.2 million unassigned balance is held in the City's Stabilization Reserve for unexpected emergencies. City of Santa Cruz · 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
- Charges for services$41.3M · 24%
- Sales and use tax$35.2M · 21%
- Property tax$32.4M · 19%
- Utility users tax$17.5M · 10%
- Transient occupancy (hotel) tax$16.2M · 10%
- Rents and miscellaneous$6.3M · 4%
- Franchise tax$5.7M · 3%
- Other (admission, parking lot and other taxes, permits, grants, fines, transfers in)$15.2M · 9%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$42M · 25%
- Fire$29.7M · 17%
- City Manager (incl. homelessness response and economic development)$22.1M · 13%
- Parks and recreation$21M · 12%
- Public works$15.6M · 9%
- Community development$10.5M · 6%
- Information technology$8.1M · 5%
- Other (non-departmental, finance, library, HR, council, city attorney)$21M · 12%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Every property pays the 1% base levy, which the county collects and shares among local agencies. Voter-approved bond rates add to it. Homes in the Live Oak or Scotts Valley school districts pay those districts' rates instead of Santa Cruz City Schools.
0¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Santa Cruz
- 1% base levy (shared by the county, city, schools and others)1 · 92%
- Santa Cruz City Schools bonds0.069 · 6%
- Cabrillo College bonds0.015 · 1%
- City of Santa Cruz general obligation bonds0.004 · <1%
- Total (percent of assessed value)1.088
FY2024-25 rates for a home in the city of Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz County) in the Santa Cruz City Schools area. City of Santa Cruz · Dec 19, 2025
Who provides your services
Not everything in Santa Cruz is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe citySanta Cruz Police DepartmentCity of Santa Cruz · Dec 19, 2025
- FireThe citySanta Cruz Fire DepartmentCity of Santa Cruz · Dec 19, 2025
- Emergency medical servicesThe citySanta Cruz Fire DepartmentCity of Santa Cruz
- Lifeguards and marine rescueThe citySanta Cruz Fire DepartmentCity of Santa Cruz
- WaterThe citySanta Cruz Water DepartmentCity of Santa Cruz · Dec 19, 2025
- Sewer and storm waterThe cityCity of Santa CruzCity of Santa Cruz · Dec 19, 2025
- ParkingThe cityCity of Santa CruzCity of Santa Cruz · Dec 19, 2025
- Streets and parksThe cityCity of Santa CruzCity of Santa Cruz · Dec 19, 2025
- LibraryAnother agencySanta Cruz Public Libraries Joint Powers AuthorityGoverned by representatives of the City and County of Santa Cruz; the City acts as fiduciaryCity of Santa Cruz
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 | San ClementeCA | MontebelloCA | Santa CruzCA | PortervilleCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 62,636 | 62,994 | 63,065 | 63,719 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $324,966 | $354,235 | Not current (2022) | $180,000 |
| Council member pay | Not current (1998) | $12,384 | $20,524 | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,402 | $1,472 | $2,695 | $575 |
| Debt per resident | $128 | $4,812 | $4,197 | $1,226 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $685 | $422 | $3,531 | $962 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 3.2 | 9.7 | 15.6 | 5.2 |
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 Clemente pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Santa Cruz publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe FY 2027 adopted budget document, its chapters and an interactive OpenGov version are posted on the city's budget page. City of Santa Cruz
- Yes: City manager's contract findable onlineThe City Manager's December 2021 employment contract is posted on the Human Resources MOUs, Salaries and Benefits page. City of Santa Cruz
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineThe Council Meetings page links agendas, minutes and recordings, live meetings and downloadable video files. City of Santa Cruz
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe August 29, 2026 salary schedule lists the mayor at $3,420.68 and council members at $1,710.35 a month. City of Santa Cruz · Aug 29, 2026
- Yes: Employee pay published City of Santa Cruz
Questions to ask your council
- The long-range plan projects general fund deficits in FY2027-28 and FY2028-29. Which projects or services will change to close them?
- Unassigned general fund balance was $7.2 million on June 30, 2025, and the city's rule calls for an emergency reserve of two months of general fund operating spending. When will the reserve reach that level?
- Bonds, notes and loans totaled $264.7 million on June 30, 2025, mostly water loans. How will water rates cover the repayments?
The fiscal year starts July 1. Finance develops revenue estimates and budget guidelines in January, the City Manager sends a recommended budget to the council, and the council holds public hearings and study sessions. The City Charter requires adoption no later than the first regular meeting in July. A public budget webinar on the proposed FY2026-27 budget was held May 19, 2026. See who is running for council
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