How Santa Rosa is run
Who runs Santa Rosa, 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 Rosa's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Santa Rosa
A city manager appointed by the council runs the city day to day and appoints the department heads. The seven council members, each elected by district, set policy, adopt the budget and appoint the city manager and the city attorney.
What they are paid
- $500 a month for use of his own car on city business
- 80 hours of administrative leave each July 1
- Keeps the benefits of his assistant city manager job, plus other executive management benefits
- If the council ends the interim job without cause, he may return to assistant city manager
- No merit or cost-of-living raises unless the council approves
Santa Rosa city staff
1,250 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2026-27. Budgeted full-time equivalent positions, all funds. The budget cuts 27 positions from the year before. City of Santa Rosa · Jul 1, 2026
The city posts a council-adopted salary plan with pay ranges for every job class. We did not pull pay bands from the State Controller's database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Santa Rosa 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: $68.9M (2025-06-30). The city's own target: Keep general fund reserves between 15% and 17% of spending. The audited report calls 17% the council-mandated threshold. City of Santa Rosa · Dec 31, 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
- Sales tax (including the half-cent Measure Q)$71.5M · 32%
- Property tax$43.8M · 19%
- Other taxes$36.1M · 16%
- Motor vehicle license fees$21.2M · 9%
- Utility users tax$15.1M · 7%
- Charges to other city funds$12.4M · 6%
- Other (charges for services, recreation, permits, fines, grants, interest, misc.)$24.6M · 11%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$85.5M · 37%
- Fire$62.5M · 27%
- Transportation and public works$37.9M · 16%
- General government (council, manager, attorney, finance, HR)$23.3M · 10%
- Planning and economic development$19.8M · 9%
- Recreation$11.1M · 5%
- Water department$763,282 · 0%
- Less: non-departmental credits$-9.6M · -4%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Every property pays the 1% base levy, which is split among local agencies; the city's share is 12% of it. Voter-approved school bond rates depend on which of the nine school districts a home is in.
0¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Santa Rosa
- 1% base levy (shared by the county, city, schools and special districts)1 · 89%
- School district bondsVaries by school district0.1155 · 10%
- Other special districts0.007 · <1%
- Total (per $100 of assessed value)1.1225
FY2024-25 rates for a property in the city of Santa Rosa (Sonoma County). City of Santa Rosa · Dec 31, 2025
Who provides your services
Not everything in Santa Rosa is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe citySanta Rosa Police DepartmentCity of Santa Rosa · Dec 31, 2025
- FireThe citySanta Rosa Fire DepartmentCity of Santa Rosa · Dec 31, 2025
- EMS / paramedicsThe citySanta Rosa Fire DepartmentCity of Santa Rosa · Jul 1, 2026
- WaterThe citySanta Rosa Water (city utility)City of Santa Rosa · Dec 31, 2025
- Sewer and stormwaterThe cityCity of Santa RosaCity of Santa Rosa · Dec 31, 2025
- StreetsThe cityCity of Santa RosaCity of Santa Rosa · Dec 31, 2025
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Santa RosaIncludes a municipal golf courseCity of Santa Rosa · Dec 31, 2025
- Bus transitThe citySanta Rosa CityBus (city Transit Division)City of Santa Rosa · Jul 1, 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 | OceansideCA | Rancho CucamongaCA | Santa RosaCA | OntarioCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 174,027 | 176,418 | 179,798 | 187,863 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $325,665 | $343,110 | $341,428 | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | Not current (2016) | Not confirmed | Not current (2022) | $30,600 |
| General fund per resident | $1,383 | $717 | $1,286 | $2,563 |
| Debt per resident | $796 | $22 | $1,367 | $5,037 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $1,374 | $486 | $2,437 | $781 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 6.2 | 3.2 | 7.0 | 8.1 |
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). Rancho Cucamonga pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Santa Rosa 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 budget and a Budget at a Glance summary are posted on the city's website. City of Santa Rosa
- Yes: City manager's contract findable onlineThe interim city manager's employment agreement, appointing resolution and salary ordinance are posted in the city's Legistar system. City of Santa Rosa · Jun 2, 2026
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineOrdinances and Legistar records list each member's vote, e.g. the 7-0 vote adopting the interim manager's salary. City of Santa Rosa · Jun 16, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineThe city streams council meetings live and posts official council records online. City of Santa Rosa
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentCouncil ordinances set pay at $1,480 a month for members and $2,220 for the mayor. City of Santa Rosa
- Partly: Employee pay published City of Santa Rosa
Questions to ask your council
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $68.9 million on June 30, 2025, and the budget expects reserves to fall below the 15-17% policy within two years. What will the council do when that happens?
- The city's three CalPERS plans were $438 million short of full funding in June 2025. How much will the new fixed payment plan save over its full term?
- The city has had interim city managers since January 2026. When will the council restart the search for a permanent city manager?
Help decide what comes next
What do you want to know about Santa Rosa next?
One tap, no sign-in. We count answers; we never show who chose what.
Every number here was checked by hand against the linked document. Cities publish on different schedules, so years differ between sections; each figure says which year it describes. Spotted something wrong or out of date?
See something wrong? Report an error
Something wrong or missing? Tell us what and where, with a link to a source if you have one. Reports feed the next verification run.