Santa Fe SpringsNot a ballot

How Santa Fe Springs is run

Who runs Santa Fe Springs, 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 Fe Springs's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.

Who runs Santa Fe Springs

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.

City of Santa Fe Springs

What they are paid

City manager René Bobadilla: base pay$359,1002025-06-03. City of Santa Fe Springs · Jun 3, 2025
In the contract
  • Five-year contract starting July 19, 2023
  • Severance of six months' base salary if the council ends his contract early
  • Car allowance of $500 a month and a city cell phone
  • City matches his 401(a) deferred compensation 1:1, up to 3% of base salary
  • $228,000 group term life insurance policy
  • Retiree medical benefits if vested in CalPERS
A council member$12,233 a year2024-12. Computed: $1,019.38 a month x 12. Ordinance 1141 raised council pay by 5%, effective after the 2024 election; it had not changed since 2012. City of Santa Fe Springs · Jun 4, 2024
The mayor$12,233 a year2024-12. City of Santa Fe Springs · Jun 4, 2024

Santa Fe Springs city staff

241 full-time-equivalent positions, including General fund departments 225, Water utility 16. FY2026-27. Total positions in the adopted budget: 225 in general fund departments and 16 in the water utility. City of Santa Fe Springs · Jun 2, 2026

The city posts salary ranges for each job title. We found no city list of pay by employee. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.

Is Santa Fe Springs 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.

General fund, FY2026-27$114MOut of $141M across all city funds, which includes utilities and other money that can only be spent on one thing. City of Santa Fe Springs · Jun 2, 2026
Savings grew, FY2024-25 (audited)+$543,063General fund revenue $108M, spending $109M. Spent $627,400 more than it took in, including a $9.7 million land and building purchase. After $1.17 million of transfers in, the general fund balance rose by $543,063. City of Santa Fe Springs · Oct 1, 2026

The city's own outlook

The adopted FY2026-27 budget has $114.1 million of general fund spending against $107.0 million of revenue. The city manager wrote that the $7.0 million gap is mainly a timing difference rather than a structural deficit. He expects vacancies and one-time revenue to narrow it and the rest to be funded from reserves of more than $105 million. City of Santa Fe Springs · Jun 2, 2026

Savings

Unassigned general fund balance: $44.9M (2025-06-30). City of Santa Fe Springs · Oct 1, 2026

Pension promises not yet funded$153M(2025-06-30). City of Santa Fe Springs · Oct 1, 2026
Debt owed$42MGovernmental activities: the 2025 special tax revenue bonds for street repair and two fire notes. Water utility: the 2013 and 2018 water revenue bonds. 2025-06-30. City of Santa Fe Springs · Oct 1, 2026

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$40.6M · 36%
  • Measure Y transactions and use tax$17.7M · 15%
  • Program revenue (permits, fees, fire-rescue charges, fines)$10.4M · 9%
  • Utility users tax$9M · 8%
  • Property tax$7.1M · 6%
  • Franchise fees$5.1M · 4%
  • Measure L sales tax (new)$4.4M · 4%
  • Drawn from reserves (planned gap)$7M · 6%
  • Other (vehicle license fees, interest, ground leases, transfers)$12.7M · 11%

City of Santa Fe Springs · Jun 2, 2026

Goes to (FY2026-27)

  • Fire-Rescue$28.2M · 25%
  • Police services (mainly Whittier Police Department contract)$25.5M · 22%
  • Public Works maintenance$16.4M · 14%
  • Parks and Recreation$10.8M · 9%
  • City Manager's Office (council, clerk, attorney, HR, risk)$8.5M · 7%
  • Community services (library, family and human services)$7.6M · 7%
  • Other (finance, engineering, planning, utilities, new police department)$17M · 15%

City of Santa Fe Springs · Jun 2, 2026

Your property tax bill: who gets it

Proposition 13 sets the base property tax at 1% of assessed value, shared among local agencies. The city's share is 0.077 of each $100. Voter-approved school, college and water district levies add the rest.

7¢

of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Santa Fe Springs

  • City of Santa Fe Springs (share of the 1% base levy)0.077 · 7%
  • Los Angeles County (rest of the 1% base levy)0.923 · 80%
  • Elementary school district bonds0.082 · 7%
  • Whittier Union High School District bonds0.045 · 4%
  • Rio Hondo Community College District bonds0.023 · 2%
  • Metropolitan Water District0.007 · <1%
  • Total (% of assessed value)1.158

FY2024-25 rates for property in the city of Santa Fe Springs (Los Angeles County). City of Santa Fe Springs · Oct 1, 2026

Who provides your services

Not everything in Santa Fe Springs is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.

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.

PinoleCAHermosa BeachCASanta Fe SpringsCASouth El MonteCA
Residents18,89119,19619,22919,489
Top administrator's base pay$305,000$270,000$359,100$268,800
Council member payNot confirmed$10,176$12,233Not confirmed
General fund per resident$1,585$3,120$5,933$1,439
Debt per resident$1,545$336$2,186$518
Unfunded pension per resident$2,369$3,191$7,940$35
City staff per 1,000 residents6.17.712.55.2

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). Pinole and Hermosa Beach and Santa Fe Springs and South El Monte pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.

What Santa Fe Springs publishes

What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.

Questions to ask your council

  1. The FY2026-27 general fund budget plans $114.1 million of spending and $107.0 million of revenue. Which steps will close the $7.0 million gap, and how much will come from reserves?
  2. The general fund ended June 30, 2025 with $44.9 million unassigned. How much of that does the city plan to keep, and how much to spend on capital projects or the new police department?
  3. The FY2026-27 budget spends $25.5 million on police services, mostly through the Whittier Police Department. What will a city-run police department cost each year compared with that?
  4. The city's net pension liability was $152.7 million at the latest measurement. What is the council's plan to pay it down, and how will the pension trust be used?

The fiscal year runs July 1 to June 30. Staff give a first-quarter review in October or November and a mid-year update in January, hold budget workshops with the council in the spring, and the council adopts the budget in June. The FY2026-27 budget was adopted June 2, 2026. See who is running for council

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